Like Father, Like son
by Donakiko
Summary: Everything was fine for Skipper. His team was together, he had his morning coffee and he got to spend his days with his son who doesn't know he has a dad... Then his Ex-wife had to come ruin it all with her plan to take his son to Blowhole... right?
1. Recon

**Disclaimer: I do not own the penguins or any other charecters (only Karen who I made from sheer boredom)**

**Warning: I created this while I was bored in English class so forgive me if it's not good**

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><p>Skipper was the first to wake that morning. Since it was the last Sunday of the summer Skipper gave the team the authorization to wake whenever they wanted.<p>

His team may be skipping the morning training but Skipper wasn't going to give Blowhole the chance to catch them with their flippers down. So at lunchtime, all the penguins scouted the perimeter and area of the zoo.

"Private, you take the north area" Skipper told him.

"Aye Aye Skipper!" Private replied with his usual British accent.

"Kowalski, East area"

Kowalski took out his map of the zoo and highlighted his assigned area. He then put the map under his flipper and saluted his superior.

"Yes sir!"

Skipper turned to the last team member "Rico...what are you doing?"

Quickly putting away his polishing cloth, Rico swallowed his now gleaming fuse bomb.

"Natin?" _(Nothing)_

Skipper was still confused but none the less, sighed and let it go. "You'll be taking the west area, okay?"

Rico nodded "Yup!"

"And I'll take the South are near the gate, good luck men!" Skipper finished

His three soldiers saluted him and belly slid to their assigned areas.

15 minutes later...

Skipper reached the zoo gate and turned to head back to H.Q when a truck suddenly pulled in with a crate labelled 'Live Animal'. The letters H.Z/N.J printed under the label.

Skipper immediately panicked. He remembered the unique label as the Hoboken Zoo, New Jersey.

"Oh mother of Mackerel!" His brain went in to overdrive. "What if it's another lemur? We already have 3 and we do NOT need another ringtail!" Not wanting to be there when another lemur joined the zoo, Skipper left the gate and went back to H.Q.

At H.Q

His team were already back

"Um, Skipper?" Kowalski creased his brow in confusion at his out of breath commander dropping through the hatch. "Are you alright?"

"No I'm not Kowalski!" Skipper turned to the youngest team member who was watching "The Lunacorns" on T.V "Private! There's a crate at the Zoo gate and I need you to go check it out"

Private turned away from the Television and look at Skipper.

"Sorry Skippah, but weren't you just there?"

"Yea, so?"

"Well why didn't you check it then?"

"Don't answer a question with a question Private, now go check it out!"

"Yes Skippah" Private somersaulted away from the telly and climbed the ladder.

At the Zoo gate...

Private wandered around and found the crate with a hole in it.

"Um, hello?"  
>Two pairs of red eyes shone out from the darkness of the crate. Then 2 male, angry badgers erupted through the crate. Creating another hole and sending chunks of wood flying. 1 big chunk hit Privates forehead, creating a small gash.<p>

"OW! Badgers! Skip-"

The badgers slowly stalked towards the young penguin as he fell to the ground through dizziness. The last thing his conscious mind saw before darkness claimed him... was a penguin defeating the badgers and driving them back into the crate.

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><p><strong>I Thank the first person to review because I have a chocolate penguin lolly in my fridge and I have been waiting for my first review on my first penguins story for me to be able to eat it.<strong>

**PLZ Enjoy and review**

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	2. Old flame

**Yea, re-did this chapter a bit**

**~_Donakiko_**

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><p><strong>H.Q<strong>

"Any 3's Kowalski?" Skipper asked.

"Go fish Skipper" The Genius penguin replied looking through his hand of cards.

A crash of thunder came from outside followed by the heavy sound of thousands of raindrops hitting the concrete.

"Skipper, don't you think Private's been out a bit too long?"

"Kowalski, he's only been gone 10 mins. But that storm is getting bad, maybe we should go lo-"

Suddenly the sound of metal scrapping the concrete alerted the penguins that the fishbowl had been moved and a penguin jumped into the H.Q. Skipper turned, expecting to see the young soldier.

"Ah Private, what took-"

The Penguins was not Private. It was a female adult. About the size of Skipper with a similar body shape to Rico with long thick blonde hair running down her face. Her startling blue eyes scanning the area, unaware of Skippers presence.

Skipper knew who it was and got into battle stance.

"KAREN!"

"SKIPPER?" Karen looked equally as surprised as Skipper and got into a similar battle stance. "What in the Amster Dam are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the exact same thing!" Skipper yelled at her "Karen what in the Sam hill are you doing here?"

Karen lowered her guard "I found one of your penguins unconscious and about to be killed by my guards"

Skipper also lowered his guard and his anger dropped "Private?"

Two male badgers jumped, soaking wet, through the hatch and set an unconscious Private n his bunk. Kowalski ran over and began to check the head wound. Skipper looked over at the young penguin and felt his heart drop at the sight of the blood streaming down his face from the open wound. Though it seemed most of the blood had been washed away in the rain.

"Kowalski, Analysis?"

"He's alright Skipper." He ensured him "It's not deep, he hasn't lost a lot of blood and there doesn't seem to be any internal bleeding or a concussion. Looks like he's just knocked out"

Skipper breathed a sigh of relief before turning back to the unwanted visitor.

"Alright Karen, Now why are you here?"

Karen smirked, feeling it was funny he hadn't figured it out himself.

"What do you think Skip'. I'm here to see our son"


	3. Our son

**Alright here is the third chapter. Hope you all like it (I decided to include Rico in this chapter incase anyone missed him)**

**Hope you like it ^_^**

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><p>The temperature in the penguin's habitat seemed to drop 20C.<p>

"W...Wh...What?" Skipper stuttered.

Karin's smirk stretched across her entire face as she saw the shock on Skippers face. Kowalski turned from the unconscious Private after wrapping a bandage around his head and whispered to Skipper.

"Skipper, who is this?"

"Kowalski-Karen, Karen-Kowalski. Karen is my... my..."

"I'M!" Karen raised her voice, cutting Skipper off "His ex-wife" Her grin disappeared "And I'm here to see our son like we agreed in the divorce"

Suddenly Rico walked into the base via the lab door and looked around at the 3 confused penguins, 2 angry badgers and the unconscious penguin in the bunk.

"'rivate!" Rico looked at Kowalski and pointed at Private. "Wha?"

"It's alright Rico, Private is perfectly alright. Could you go get some fish from the zoo store and Skippers stress ball, I've got a feeling things may get ugly and Skipper could use it"

"Yup" Rico shot a death glare at the new penguin and climbed out the hatch.

Skipper turned back to his ex-wife "Now Karen you do realise our son was 3 days old during the divorce"

"Yes, I know that" Karen's voice dripped with sarcasm as she mumbled something about what an idiot Skipper was.

Skipper heard her.

"What I mean is... Our son won't recognise you since he was only born" Skippers expression darkened "And if I remember right, one of the reasons we got a divorce was because YOU wanted to destroy the egg the day before he hatched"

"Yes, now where is he?"

"YOU WON'T SEE HIM UNTIL I KNOW WHY YOU WANT TO!"

Karen stepped back at the aggressiveness in Skippers voice and the look of death on his face. Even Kowalski was shocked. He had known Skipper for years and he had only ever remembered Skipper having that expression on his face that one time when Blowhole had... Wait...that's classified.

"Skipper that was years ago" Karen began.

"I really do not care Karen" Skipper shot at her

Karen sighed, she was quickly growing annoyed. "Skipper, I have not seen my son for nearly his entire life and I want to see him NOW, encase you've forgotten..." Her face lit up with a devious smile "If you deny me anything that was agreed in the divorce, I get full custody of our son"

Skipper sighed, defeated "You'll have to wait until he wakes up"

"I still want to see him, even if he is asleep" Karen said

"Ouch!"

Skipper looked to Private who was waking up in his bunk, to her, then her two badger guards.

"You already have Karen"

Skipper went to help Private sit up in his bunk.

"Ski-Skippah?" Private held his flipper to his head as his headache worsened.

"Easy Private, you took a nasty knock to the cranium. There shouldn't be any lasting damage but you will have a headache" Kowalski waddled over to them and checked the bandage on Privates head. Private looked at him with his usual happy smile and childishly hopeful eyes.

"I'll be alright, thanks Kowalski"

Karen pulled Skipper away from the bunk and whispered to him "Is that my son?"

"You mean 'OUR' Son?"

She rolled her eyes at him "fine yes, I mean 'OUR' son. Is it him?" She nodded her head towards Private.

Skipper nodded "Yes Karen, Private's our son" He looked to his feet before continuing "But he doesn't know that either of us are his parents"

Karen gave him a knowing smile.

"Well then, we'll just have to tell him" She began to walk towards the bunks, Skipper stopped her.

"I think the boy has been through enough for one today. We'll tell him tomorrow"

They both waddled back towards the bunks, just when Private noticed Karen's two guards...

"**BADGERS!"**

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><p><strong>Okay the Private-Badgers thing was kinda random since I didn't really put anything remotelly funny in. I'm kinda stumped as to where to go with this story so if you could PM me any suggestions you may have that would be awesome. The sooner I get suggestions the sooner the next chapter will be up:<strong>

**Review plz!**


	4. The truth comes out

The next morning came all too soon for Skipper, but for Karen it didn't come soon enough. It wasn't a particularly good morning. It was dark enough to be late evening and rain clouds covered the sky.

She and the badgers stood watching the morning training as the penguins swam laps around their concrete island. They swam in a straight line for practise, Skipper in front, followed by Kowalski, then Rico and Private at the end.

"Come on Private!" Skipper yelled at the young penguin that was falling behind. "Only forty more laps and we're done."

"Yes...Skipper" Private weakly responded, panting heavily.

Skipper glanced at Kowalski after hearing Privates response, worry clearly etched on his face. Kowalski nodded, agreeing that it was too much for Private to handle too soon.

After four more laps, Private began to lag further and further behind.

The panic became too much for Skipper and he called and early end to the practise. The four Penguins erupted from the water and landed on the concrete. Skipper was greeted by Karen's smug smile.

"Is that all you can do Skip?" She asked, the smile growing "I thought you said forty more laps, what happened? Did the big baby get tired?"

Skipper opened his beak to shot back a snappy remark, but Kowalski cut in.

"Private is still recovering from yesterday. We're taking it easy until he feels 100% better, currently he is at 64.7%. We can return to the usual training regime in approximately 2 days" Kowalski read from the pictures on his notebook.

Skipper turned his back to them both and belly-slid down the open hole and into the HQ below. Kowalski, Rico and the badgers followed suit. Leaving Private and Karen alone.

Karen was about to follow them when a pair of wings wrapped around her and pulled her into a hug. She looked down and saw Private.

"I never thanked you proper for helping me" He explained letting go. "Thank you"

"You're welcome" Karen gave her first genuine smile in living memory and returned the hug.

"Who are you?" Private asked.

The question caught her off guard, before she realised this was her chance "I'm your mo-"

"KAREN!" Skipper yelled as he ran towards them.

Karen narrowed her eyes at him "You were eavesdropping!"

Skipper shrugged "I prefer to think of it as 'Making sure you don't say anything unnecessary'" Skipper folded his wings over his chest

"WE HAD AN AGREEMENT SKIPPER!" Karen screamed!

They both seemed to have forgotten the young Private who was staring at the both with wide, fearful eyes. He hated it when people argued, it scared him. What was worse was that he realised these two literally hated each other's guts.

"NOT RIGHT NOW! HE'S STILL RECOVERING!" Skipper yelled back.

"What's goin on?" one of the badgers asked in a Brooklyn accent. Kowalski and Rico followed him out, though kept their distance from the arguing penguins who hadn't noticed their presence.

"I DON'T GIVE A TUNA SKIPPER! HE DESERVES TO KNOW!"

"NOT NOW KAR-"

"**STOP!" **

Karen and Skipper turned in surprise at the loud noise and found Private, tears in his eyes.

"What are you two arguing about?" He asked in a calmer voice.

Skippers mind suddenly went blank, unable to think of a reason without telling the truth. "You see Private, we...we... Karen and I... we just-"

"We're your parents Private"Karen blurted out in an almost motherly tone.

Skipper took in a sharp breath as he realised what she just said. He shut his eyes, willing the tension in the air to just disappear.

Thud.

They all turned to see an unconscious Kowalski lying on his back on the concrete, Rico shaking him.

"You...you what?" Private asked shaking his head.

Karen walked forward and placed her flipper on the younger's shoulder, looking him in the eyes.

"I'm your mother sweetie and Skipper's your father"

Private stepped back, allowing Karen's flipper to slide down to her side. He looked at Skipper.

"You neva' told me?" The tears in Privates eyes now threatening to burst.

"I...I didn't know how...I just..." Skipper tried to form a sentence but the fog in his mind prevented him.

"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME?" Private Screamed, pressing his flippers to the sides of his head, he shook his head, trying to get rid of some of the thoughts which were crowding his already confused mind.

_Skipper can't be my dad, he can't –_

Everything came rushing back to him at once. All those moments Skipper protected him, when he stopped him falling off the platform when they searched for the treasure of the golden squirrel. The way he always distracted Blowhole whenever he tried to get to Private. Even the moments when they were just relaxing in HQ, when he and Skipper played chess and Skipper would let him win, when Private caught the flu and Skipper never left his side. When Kowalski wanted to use Privates lunacorn for an experiment with Rico, Skipper intervened. All the moments he acted like a father to Private, all that time he WAS a father to Private.

Droplets of rain began to fall, turning the concrete to a darker shade of grey with every drop until the rain was torrential, this only added to the tension in the air.

The tears running down Privates face now mixed the droplets of rain as they hit his feathers, he hardly felt them. All his attention was focused on Skipper.

Skipper stared at the concrete, unable to meet his son's eyes. The rain hitting the back of his head was running around his head and gathering on the end of his beak before falling into the growing puddles below.

He looked up after hearing a splash and saw Private swim to the fence around their habitat before jumping out of the water and sliding away from the habitat.

"PRIVATE-"

"Let him go"

Skipper turned to see Karen still standing there, staring in the direction Private left in.

"He needs time alone to think, if he's anything like you then he'll get bored of thinking at all and be back soon" She said before lifting the fish bowl and jumping down the hole.

"Ugh" Kowalski sat up with help from Rico, holding his head. "What happened?"

Rico began the tale "Kipper rivate da, rivate blah go bah mwah sur a. Ran go blasei san kesu ru"

"Oh, thanks" Kowalski nodded to Rico, before fainting again.

Rico sighed heavily and took Kowalski flippers in his own and began dragging him through the entrance to the HQ.

Skipper gave the zoo one quick look over. The thick cover of rain made it impossible to see and further than the Lemurs habitat, and even then he could only make the faint outline of the bouncy castle.

Skipper gave his own sigh, wondering if his newly informed son would be home by tomorrow, before joining his comrades in their underground base.

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><p><strong>I would like to thank <em>Galaxina- The-Seedian<em> for this suggestion. I love the Kowalski fainting part :D**

**Any more suggestions and ideas would be very much appreciated (Lok at me, talking all smart :P)**

**~Donakiko**


	5. To Marlenes

T**his is just to tell you how he ended up being in Marlenes.**

**Next chapter will be the flashback.**

**Sorry if this is really short.**

**Skipper: Just hurry up**

**Me: Fine sardine brain**

_**~Donakiko**_

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><p>Private jumped over the gate and landed beak first into the water surrounding the otter habitat.<p>

The rain still poured down, now thunder and lightning had joined it. Private thought how ironic it was that it usually rained during moments like this in the movies he and the team watched on the T.V. in their headquarters.

But it was much more than just a headquarters to Private, to him, it was his home.

_Does this count as running away from home? _Private shook his head as he shot up from the water and landed outside the door to Marlene's. _Of course not, Kowalski told me it's only running away if the person has no intention of ever returning._

Though Private didn't even know if he was going to go back, to many thoughts and questions were running through his young mind.

_If Skippah's my dad, then how is Uncle Nigel my uncle?_

_Why was I raised in the British zoo?_

_How come I can't remember them?_

_Now that I think about it, my earliest memories are when I was at the Zoo in Britain. I must have been really young when I last saw my mum._

Privates thoughts were instantly dragged back to Karen.

She did save him from the badgers and if he was his mum then he was just imagining it, but there was just something about her that he didn't trust.

_Great_, he thought bitterly, _I must've inherited Skippah's paranoia. Karen saved me from those badgers. But on the other flipper, I was never in any real danger from them if they were working with her. On the other flip- Oh, wait that's three flippers, that wouldn't work._

Private slowly waddled into the cave.

Marlene was the first person he thought to go to, he couldn't go to the chimps, they'd just tell him to listen and trust his parents. The fact that they were his parents is what was confusing him in the first place.

There was no chance he would go to the lemurs. If he did then the news would spread around the Zoo like a bad cold.

And not even for a pile of butterscotch lollies would he ever go to Joey.

Private neared the end of the tunnel when a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks and made him shrink into the shadows.

"I'm serious Marlene, He just left after the demon told him"

"Skipper, ok, you are being ridiculous. Private wouldn't just up and leave without a good rea-"

Marlene paused and for one frightful moment Private thought he had been caught. The she took a deep breath and yelled...

"DID YOU JUST SAY PRIVATE WAS YOUR SON?"

"Cheese and Crackers Marlene!" From where he was, Private could see Skippers practically jump back at Marlene's scream.

"Sorry, sorry but...I just can't believe it, I mean Privates so sweet and innocent and you're...Not" Marlene continued.

Private had to use all his will power to stifle the chuckle that had rose dangerously close to coming out and in doing so, missed part of their conversation. When he picked their voices up again, his attention was immediately caught.

"-It will help Skipper" Marlene told him.

"I'm not so sure Marlene" Skipper passed by Private without a second glance and sat down on Marlene's bed.

Marlene sat beside him, her paw on his back "I can't tell you what to do unless I know the whole story of what happened"

Skipper shook his head "You do realise what you are asking don't you?"

Marlene nodded

Skipper sighed "I'm warning you do, the story of Private's birth isn't the happiest"

Private leaned as close out as he dared. Determined to hear the whole story.

"Come on Skipper, how bad can it be?" Marlene took her paw from skippers back and placed on knee.

Skipper let out a low chuckle. "Let's just say it makes 'Jaws' look like a Disney movie."

That was enough to shock Private. Skipper had never let him watch 'Jaws' saying it was too scary for him. So this must've been bad.

"Come on Skipper, stop trying to talk me out of it and tell me everything that happened" Marlene placed her paw on the side of Skippers face and pushed it so that he was directly facing her.

"Everything?" Skipper asked.

"Everything" She confirmed.

Skipper looked to the ground. "Alright, but you may want to get comfortable. This could take a while."

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><p><strong>Recap, next chapter will be the flashback.<strong>

**Just needed to get this part in.**


	6. The enemy of penguin kind

**Disclaimer: I do not own this line from 'Pirates of the carribean' I just thought it was awesome and had to put it in.**

**P.S. I do not know what Manfredie or Johnson look like, or anything about them. So they are purley made up by**

**what I imagined them to be, sorry for any inconvenience to anyone :P**

**~Donakiko**

**ENJOY!**

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><p>Skipper sighed.<p>

"Marlene, I know you don't believe in him. But I need to tell you that the whole thing began and ended with Blowhole"

"Blowhole?" Marlene asked disbelieving "As in your evil dolphin arch nemesis, really Skipper?"

"How do you think he became our enemy Marlene?" Skipper asked her.

"I don't know, you went to see a show and accidently sat in the splash zone or something?"

Skipper glared at her "He's not only our enemy. He's the enemy of all penguin kind"

Marlene raised her brows sarcastically "Seriously?"

"It's probably easier if I start from the beginning"

Marlene nodded her agreement.

"All right, it started near the end of the penguin war in Antarctica, about 14 years ago..."

~/\~

"ALL TROOPS FALL BACK!" The penguin general called across the hazardous ice land that was the battlefield.

A young Skipper was sitting in one of the many trenches with his 3 friends and fellow soldiers. Manfredie, Johnson and Argus.

Manfredie had a similar body to Rico. She had brown hair which framed her face and a head shape similar to Rico. There was a random stand of hair which always hung down from her head over her left eye. She carries a light brown/dark beige back pack which holds the teams supplies.

Johnson had a similar height and body shape to Kowalski, he had very short dark brown/black hair which reached to just above his eyes and a sash which held his ice rifle across his back.

Argus was around a head shorter than Skipper with a body shape similar to Rico and a blue scarf around his neck. He has a flat head and a chain around his neck.

Manfredie opened one of the pockets of her backpack and pulled out some bullets, 3 grenades and a pack of sardines.

"Argus, take these grenades to trench 6, they're running low." Manfredie passed the bombs to the young soldier.

Argus glanced fearfully over the edge of the trench at the distance he would have to slide to get to trench 6.

"Are...Are you sure I can make it?" He asked, his young voice cracking in fear.

"Don't worry Argus" Skipper told him, lifting an ice rifle "I'll cover you, alright?"

Argus nodded and jumped over the edge of the trench. He began sliding across the icy terrain as Skipper shot down 3 lobsters who had tried to attack him.

Johnson threw one of the sardines in the air and caught it in his beak.

"obst'r um...n-der why ar on so ong" He said through a mouth full of sardine.

"Swallow, then talk Johnson" Manfredie told him, pulling a weapon from the pack.

"Yea Johnson, we're penguins. Not pigs" Skipper added, still firing.

Johnson swallowed with difficulty, and then spoke again.

"I said, Lobsters are dumb...I wonder why this war has been going on so long. I mean, look at how many we've defeated today alone, how many lobsters does this maniac have."

Manfredie shook her head, polishing her stun gun with an old cloth "Fighting the lobsters isn't the point of this war. It's about destroying their leader"

Skipper nodded "Blowhole" He fired again.

"Skipper" Johnson passed him bag of ammo.

"Thanks" Skipper re-loaded.

In those few crucial seconds it took Skipper to re-load , everything changed.

**BANG!**

The 3 penguins looked over the edge to see the body of Argus, unmoving with a bullet hole in his head.

~/\~

"I couldn't believe it Marlene" Skipper shook his head. Images of the dead body shooting through his mind. "He was like my little brother, not even much older than Private. He was still ranked Private, too young to be killed"

A few tears ran from Marlene's eyes.

"I didn't even know there was a penguin war" She admitted.

"Of course you didn't, it was kept inside the boundaries of Antarctica. No one outside was allowed knowledge of it except the penguins in zoos around the world. And only they found out by telegrams saying their families were killed"

Marlene wiped her tears on her paw and looked back at Skipper, who looked like he was only _just_ keeping himself together.

"Do you still want to continue?"

He nodded "You need to know everything."

"After Argus's funeral, Manfredie, Johnson and I were driven by rage. The generals told us to stay put...but I'm sure you can guess that we did the opposite..."

~/\~

Skipper opened the hatch in the vent and looked down to the hallway below.

"Is this the right hallway Skipper?" Johnson asked behind him.

"Yes, I'm sure of it" Skipper nodded.

After the funeral, the three soldiers had decided to stop this war once and for all. They snuck into Blowholes base using the ventilation system and had so far, managed to evade capture.

They had been crawling through the systems for the last 20 minutes, searching for Blowholes control room.

At last, they found it.

"Alright, I'll go down first" Skipper told them "Manfredie, You follow me. Johnson, cover us. Then I'll need you to stand guard at the door, tell us if there is anyone coming so we can get out of there. Capiche?"

The both nodded.

Skipper jumped down through the hatch and landed in the hallway.

The walls of the hallway were wallpapered a orange/red colour with a dark wood lining at the top and bottom. The floor was the same colour only in stone material which cooled their feet while walking on it. The walls were lined with flaming torches. At the end of the hallway was a double door that reached from the floor to ceiling. The doors were a rich, deep mahogany colour with golden hoop knockers.

"Well, he must've been a spoiled brat as a kid" Skipper commented.

Skipper raised his flippers and caught Manfredie around the waist before lowering her to the ground. He did the same with Johnson and together, they approached the doors.

"Perfect" Johnson said, throwing his flippers in the air. "Now how are we going to get the doors open?"

Manfredie pushed the two boys aside and walked up the doors confidently. She then grabbed the knockers and banged on the door several times.

Nothing.

She turned back to the two boys who were looking at her like she had turned crazy.

"Well it was worth a shot!" She complained.

Just then the doors slowly slid open, revealing an empty room.

The walls and floor was the same as in the hallway. There was a huge table in the centre of the room which was covered in maps of the terrain and had eight seats around in, 1 at each end and 3 on each side. The right side of the room was taken up by computers with their screens on the wall and their keyboards on a desk beneath. While the left side had its walls covered in maps and notes.

Johnson held a long whistle as he glanced around the room. "Check this place out"

"Johnson!" Skipper interrupted him "Guard"

"Yea, yea" Johnson stood outside the door with his ice rifle in his flippers.

Manfredie and Skipper searched the room for any sign of battle plans.

After a minute of searching, Manfredie found something.

"Skipper, come see these" She waved him over.

Skipper belly-slid across the room, from the wall of map, over to Manfredie who was hacking the computer.

"What is it?" He asked.

Manfredie pressed several more buttons.

Soon a map of a town of igloos appeared.

She slowly stepped away from the screen and turned to Skipper, looking sickly.

"Well?" He prompted.

"Skipper" Manfredie's voice cracked "Look at what this map is of"

Skipper gave the map one long steely look, before realizing why the formation of the igloos looked so familiar.

"Castros" He announced the town's name.

Manfredie nodded "Home"

Skipper pounded his balled up flipper on the keyboard. "That son of Satan!"

The screen flashed once and then changed to show the two penguins a blueprint.

Manfredie gasped, bringing her flipper over her beak.

Even Skipper couldn't believe what he was seeing. Blowhole was going to destroy his home with...

"A nuclear bomb"

~/\~

Marlene stared at Skipper.

"How in the world could a dolphin get his hands, flippers, fins- things on a nuclear bomb?"

"That's what the blueprint was Marlene. How to BUILD a nuclear bomb" Skipper said "Only big enough to destroy a certain area. The materials were specially designed, I didn't even know what they were. They were designed to only destroy my home and then dissolve into nothing, leaving no trace of it being there."

"Well, what happened?"

"What do you think happened? There was no chance of us leaving blueprints like that in the possession of a mad, power crazy dolphin. We had to destroy it, all of it..."

~/\~

"Skipper, this is insane!" Manfredie yelled at him as he and Johnson grabbed a torch each from the hallway.

Johnson gave her a smirk as he passed her a torch and pulled a can of oil from her backpack "Good, if we weren't this would probably never work"

Johnson opened the can and poured half of it over the table and computers. He then passed it to Skipper, who poured it over the maps and made a trail leading to the door.

"Ready team?" He asked

They nodded.

The penguins walked over to the door. Johnson threw the torch in the air and it landed on the oiled computer desk, which burst into flames. Sending debris across the room and allowing everything to catch fire, including the maps and table.

Skipper glanced at the torch in his hand which he had planned to use to light the trail and set the maps on fire, deciding it was useless, he threw it onto the table which had already begun cracking under the strain of the heat.

"Well, operation: flaming surprise is a suc-"

"SKIPPER!" Manfredie yelled, pointing at the trail of oil skipper had made which had now caught fire and was heading towards them.

"SLIDE!" Skipper yelled. The team slid out of the hallway and neared the closest exit.

"PEN-GU-INS!"

The team turned to see a dolphin towering over them on a type of scooter/vehicle, holding a torch.

"You may have thwarted my plans, but rest assured. I will destroy your home. And I will do it in the worst possible way"

Blowhole threw the torch in the air.

Setting the ceiling on fire.

"You won't get the chance bottle nose, Manfredie!" Skipper called, holding out his flipper.

Manfredie thrust an ice rifle in to Skippers outstretched flipper. Skipper took aim and fired, catching Blowhole in the right eye.

The three penguins escaped through the door just as the building collapsed.

~/\~

"Wow"

Skipper nodded at Marlene, a smile growing on his face.

Even Private, who was still hidden in the shadows of the cave leading to Marlene's home, Smiled.

_You're very brave Skippah_, He thought

Skippers smile fell.

"I thought he was dead, so did the rest of the penguins, even the Generals. We were treated like heroes."

Skipper bowed his head

"It wasn't till a year after that I realised Blowhole was true to his threats"

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, one of the longest chapters I have ever written.<strong>

**I'm actually kinda proud of the way it turned out.**

**But, then again you're the judges**

**Reviewers get cyber ice-cream and milkshakes**

**or Cyber Cookies and cake.**

**You pick :D**


	7. The egg

Like Father, Like Son 

Chapter 7

"It was a few months after Karen told me that she was pregnant" Skipper began. "I stayed in the house to look after her"

Marlene nodded "And then what?"

Skipper shut his eyes tight "The first time a saw Johnson after we told the Generals what happened with Blowhole..."

"Was the last time I saw him alive..."

~/\~

Skipper trudged through the snow with a huge effort. It was a clear morning, the sun was shining but the heavy snow the night before had left the ground buried. He carried the first few baby supplies he and his wife Karen would need. Toys, a bottle and a blanket. The toys and bottle were wrapped up in the blanket to make it easier for Skipper to carry.

He reached the centre of the town square and took a break on one of the benches.

Ever since the defeat of Blowhole and the end of the war a year ago, the town had gained a new life to it.

There were children playing in the square, chasing each other. Lovers walking along holding flippers, old couples just sitting together. Everything just seemed so peaceful to Skipper.

During the war, civilians had been forced to stay indoors as the lobsters and Blowhole had surrounded the town and the area around it.

A tap on the shoulder brought Skipper out of his thoughts.

Fearing an attack, Skipper dropped the blanket and its contents to grab the flipper with both of his flippers before back-flipping over the back of the bench and landing on the attackers back, knocking him to the ground.

"You obviously haven't lost your touch" A muffled sound came from the penguin below Skipper.

Skipper laughed while stepping off of his friend and helping him up.

"You obviously haven't learned to announce yourself before sneaking up on someone, remember where it landed you last time?" He asked.

"Yea, punched in the face by a general" Johnson rubbed his face as he remembered the bruise which had now faded. A smile appeared on his face and his eyes softened "I've missed you Skipper"

"I've missed you too Johnson, but with no war, there aren't as many chances for me to save your sorry tail feathers" Skipper Joked as he lifted the blanket.

Johnson laughed along with him. Then turned to him with a confused expression as he lifted up a bottle. "Skipper, I thought you were able to eat big boy food now, is your mother visiting or something?"

"Oh hahaha" Skipper laughed sarcastically "Actually, Karen and I are having a baby"

Skipper laughed again at the look of sudden surprise on Johnson's face which slowly grew into a wide grin.

"Congratulations old pal" Johnson patted Skipper on the back as they began their walk across town.

"So how have you been?" Skipper asked him as he fumbled to get the toys and bottle into their original positions in the blanket.

"Well, since you are asking-"

Skipper immediately regretted asking when he saw the smug look on Johnsons face.

"-And she said yes!"

"Wait what?" Skipper stopped outside Johnsons home, imagining he heard wrong.

"You heard me, I proposed to her and she said yes, can you believe it!"

"No" Skipper answered honestly, then gave a chuckle at Johnson's mock hurt expression.

The door of the snow-built home opened and Johnson's fiancé walked out.

"Well believe it Skipper, I'm still surprised myself."

Skipper smiled at the third member of their previous unit "Hello Manfredie"

Manfredie gave him a simple smile "It's been far too long Skipper, You really need to drop by more often"

"If I remember right the last time you told him that, he literally dropped through the roof when he fell of the glacier." Johnson chuckled.

Manfredie shook her head in amusement "Well, try to take it less literally this time Skipper, and congratulations to you and Karen"

Skipper stared at her calm expression._ How'd she know, so far I've only told Johnson?_

Manfredie laughed at Skippers confused look. "I could hear from the town square, you never were the best at keeping secrets Skipper"

Skipper gave her a small laugh before saying his goodbyes and rushing home.

He passed several igloos on his way home. All were prepared after the war and some men were plastering the walls with more snow to help keep in heat during the soon to come winter months.

Skipper opened the door and stepped inside his three roomed home. In the main and largest room, there was a couch and coffee table, along with a rug which stretched across the room. There was also a kitchen with a dinner tabled in the centre of the room with 2 chairs. He made a mental note to get a feeding chair when he spotted Karen who was leaning over a kitchen sink with her back to him as she cleaned one of Skipper's army medals.

"I thought I told you no cleaning?" He joked.

Karen turned to face him. He noticed something was different about her.

She was skinnier.

"You..the egg...it's?" Skipper couldn't even form full sentences as he looked at Karen's smiling face as she nodded.

She stepped forward and took Skippers flipper in hers and pulled him to a doorway with a curtain over the entrance. Pulling back the curtain, she revealed a bedroom with a cot.

In the cot, was a little penguin egg.

~/\~

A flash of joy passed over Skippers face.

Then it was gone, as if it never existed.

"Everything was perfect. The war was over, Manfredie and Johnson were going to be married, the doctor said the egg, Private, was healthy and would hatch in a week. We had everything set up. Everything was perfect."

Skipper hid his head in his flippers, shielding his face from Marlene.

"Then it all changed that night..."

~/\~

'_Click'_

Skipper rolled over in his bed, something had woken him. Though he couldn't describe the feeling of impending disaster, he knew it was his sixth sense telling him something was wrong.

And it had never lied before.

Skipper looked at the other side of his bed to find it empty.

Sitting up, Skipper looked around the room and noticed Karen wasn't in it. Not in the chair in the corner, not on the bed and the door was closed. Another thing he noticed was his tool box was opened.

Skipper laughed inwardly. Remembering how Karen had been complaining about the spot on the wall which always caused a draft.

_She's probably gone to do something about. Honestly that woman has a shorter patience fuse than me_, Skipper thought to himself as he allowed himself a small chuckle which echoed loudly in the silent room. _I'll see if she needs my help._

With that thought, Skipper kicked the covers off his feet and flung his feet over the edge of the bed. Placing them on the cold snow hardened floor, he opened the door and walked out into the main room. He saw the curtain to the baby's room was swaying slightly, as though it was disturbed recently.

Pulling the curtain aside, he saw the form of penguin leaning over the cot.

Sighing softly as he saw Karen checking on their egg, Skipper was about to pull back the curtain when he saw something that made his blood turn to ice.

Karen brought the hammer above her head, about to destroy the egg.

Their baby.

~/\~

Marlene stared at the wall as a million thoughts ran through her head about what kind of mother would want her baby dead.

The words spilled out of her mouth before she could even form the sentence in her mind "What did you do?"

"I...I did the only thing I could think off. I tackled her and pried the hammer from her flipper, I didn't understand what was happening Marlene. One minute, everything's fine and we were excited to be parents...The next, she took my hammer from the toolbox and was trying to K...kill Private" Skipper shook his head at the memory, trying to get it out of his already scarred mind.

Even Private was in complete shock. Thinking about what that woman would do to an unborn baby, to him... Made him scared to think of what she would do to anyone else.

Marlene's soft voice brought him back to reality.

"Do you want to stop?"

Skipper shook his head. "You can probably guess what happened next, we were divorced and I was left to look after Private. She called him a mistake"

Marlene took a deep breath then glanced at Skippers haunted face. "Ski...Skipper, j...Just skip to the next big thing that happened."

Skipper nodded, looking more haunted than ever.

"It was a few days after Private was born..."

He choked back a sob.

"The day Manfredie and Johnson were murdered..."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry to have to end here, but I have to do something to make sure my<strong>

**Readers keep coming back for more ^_^**

**(P.S. starting back at School tomorrow, so might not be able to update as**

**quickly. I'll try though, I've got big plans for this story)**

**And a shout out to StoriesAreMagic who kept me motivated to write this**

**chapter.. THANK YOU!**

_**~Donakiko**_


	8. The great loss

**Sorry this took so long to update, but it's longer than my usual chapters.**

**I tried to make the wait worth it, so enjoy. :)**

**Warning: Character deaths.**

**This chapter starts off in the flashback. **

**~Donakiko**

* * *

><p>~\~

"Come on Private, time to come down" Skipper told his 8 day old son for the third time in four minutes.

He didn't know, nor care how Private managed to climb to the top of their house. He just wanted him down.

"Having some trouble Skipper?" Manfredie asked, coming up from behind him.

"Private won't come down!" Skipper complained, pointing to the fluffy ball on top of the igloo.

Manfredie looked at him with a mixture of shock and confusion. "How'd he manage to get up there?" She pulled her back pack off and set it on the ground.

"I don't know!" Skipper through his arms up in the air and turned his back to Manfredie, smacking himself on the face.

He then heard a soft 'Thump' and turned to see Private sitting in a small crater of snow, He got up and shook himself before waddling to Manfredie.

"How...How did you?" Skipper then saw the small fish in Manfredie's flipper, which she gave to Private.

"Never underestimate me Skipper" She turned to him with a triumphant smile before patting Private on the head as he ate the fish piece by piece.

"Anyway, I came to talk to you...Though you may not want to answer my question"

"You can ask me anything Manfredie, what is it?"

"How...How did...Karen...Tell you she was pregnant?" She stuttered.

"Well..._She_... snuck a parenting book under my pillow and began buying baby things, like bottles...then let me figure it ou-" Skipper paused "No?" He asked in a happy tone.

Manfredie nodded "I found out yesterday" A smile grew on her face " I just don't know how to tell Johnson"

"In that case, you'd probably just need to tell him, then tell him again after he wakes up from fainting" Skipper told her with a wry smile.

Manfredie laughed "Thank you Skipper, why don't you come over later tonight. I'm sure you want to see his face when I tell him. You can leave Private at Marley's house, she'll be happy to look after him"

Marley, Argus' widow, loved all the baby penguins and was especially fond of Private since Skipper was Argus' best friend.

Skipper nodded "I will, see you tonight"

~/\~

Skipper looked Marlene in the eye "That was...the biggest mistake of my life. And it almost cost me my son"

~/\~

Skipper walked through the crisp white snow, glistening in the moonlight. He had just left Private at Marley's igloo and was on his way to Manfredie and Johnson's home.

A shout broke him from his thoughts on Johnson's face when he heard the news.

"SKIPPER!" A male penguin ran up to him.

"Nigel, how are y-"

"You have to come to the front line now!" Nigel stopped beside him, panting as if he'd just run a mile.

Skipper immediately tensed "What do you mean? Why?"

"The...The general...he's..." Nigel shut his eyes tight.

"HE'S WHAT?" Skipper shook his shoulder.

"D..Dead"

Skipper stepped away from the older penguin.

_Dead, no he can't be. Nothing can kill the General, he's the one who taught me how to fight in the first place...He's not dead...he..._

"He can't be" Skipper voiced his last thought.

Nigel slowly approached him and placed his flipper on Skippers shoulder. "He is, I'm the one who found him. Skipper I'm sorry, we have to get to the front lines"

"Why?" Skipper asked, still trying to get his mind around the fact that the general, his leader was dead.

"The general was murdered, gunshot to the heart" Nigel took a deep breath "By a lobster"

Skippers heart literally froze for a moment.

_Lobsters? Then...that means..._

"Blowhole?" Skipper glared deep into Nigel's grief stricken eyes.

"I'm afraid so, no one knows how he managed to get access to the headquarters, but he's approaching the lower east quadrant"

Skipper mind went into overdrive "Manfredie and Johnson are in the lower east quadrant"

Ignoring Nigel's cries of protest, Skipper ran at full speed to His comrade's house.

The closer to the quadrant he went, the more destruction there was.

Dead bodies, fires, miniature fights... Everything was going to chaos. Smoke filled the sky and chocked what little air Skipper had in his lungs.

He finally reached the house and pulled open the wooden door. Even though it was all in shadows, Skipper knew from previous visits that the house was all just one room, the double bed against one wall, the kitchen in the corner and in the centre of the room were two sofas and a coffee table between them.

"MANFREDIE!" Skipper called "JOHNSON!"

"Skipper?" A weak voice called out.

Skipper ran to bed to see a lump perched up against the wall.

Taking and lighting one of the candles, Skipper held it up to the lump and saw the sick looking form of Manfredie, her brown hair stained red by dry blood.

"Manfredie, are you alright?"

"I...I...Can't..." She trailed off, lifting her flipper from her stomach. Showing Skipper a blood covered bullet wound.

"Oh dear god" Skipper was lost for words, she had lost a lot of blood and the wound was deep, likely to have punctured an organ.

"Wh..Where's Johnson?" Skipper asked, ripping a piece of fabric from the covers of the bed and pressing it to the wound.

Manfredie hissed in pain "He...He had to...to go to the front line. Said he would meet you there" Manfredie's head fell to one side.

"Hey, come on, stay awake" Skipper gently tapped her cheek.

"The...The baby?" Manfredie asked him with tears in her eyes.

Skippers heart lurched, he had forgotten about that.

"I...I don't know" He told her honestly.

Manfredie chocked back a sob "Tell Johnson, I'm sorry"

"What?" Skipper shook his head, _This can't be happening._ "No, no you are not going to die. You'll be fine, the baby will be fine and you and Johnson are going to have a family"

"I'm sorry Skipper" Her breathing became shallow as tears streamed down her cheeks. In all the time they've known each other, Manfredie has never cried.

"Blowhole...He...He has help" She told him, growing tired.

"Help, who?" Skipper gently shook her. "Who?"

"She'll, she'll kill you...She wants Private"

"WHO?"

Manfredie's eyes glassed over, unblinking and unfocused.

~/\~

Skipper quickly blinked the tears back "I don't know if her telling me would have done anything, but I had to get to Johnson, tell him what happened"

Marlene picked one of the tissues from the box and wiped her tears.

Private, still in the shadows, began crying softly. Knowing Skipper would tell him 'Monster trucks Private, monster trucks' He allowed himself this one cry since Skipper didn't know he was there.

"Losing Manfredie had practically killed part of me..."

"Losing Johnson as well had been worse"

~/\~

Skipper dodged yet another punch from the lobster before retaliating with a right hook. He made it to the battle field, the air was filled with smoke as penguins and lobsters were engaged in combat all around him.

So far there had been no sign of Johnson and the lobsters were outnumbering the remaining penguins 3-to-1.

A tap on his shoulder made Skipper spin and punch the attacker in the face.

The penguin dodged. "You really need to stop doing that!" Johnson told him with a deadly serious expression despite the joke.

Skipper sighed in relief "I've been looking all over for you!"

"I asked Manfredie to tell you where I was, this is just like old times. Except that Manfredie isn't here" Johnson laughed, his face lightening up.

"And you know why?"

"I'm gonna be a father!" Johnson looked like he was just holding himself back from hugging him. Seeing Skippers fallen face, he frowned "What's wrong?"

"Johnson...Manfredie, she...she was attacked" He told him, barely able to find the words to explain it.

"A...Attacked, what do you mean 'Attacked'?" He yelled, shooting his Ice rifle at two approaching Lobsters.

Skipper took his off his back and joined the shooting.

"I went to your house to get you when Nigel told me about the General"

"What about him?" Johnson looked around him at the fighting penguins to find the general.

"He's...Dead" Skipper said, shooting another lobster.

Johnson stopped shooting for a moment before turning to look at Skipper, his face begging him to be joking.

"I know, I felt the same" Skipper told him, shooting 3 more lobsters.

"What about Manfredie, is she and the baby alright?" The gunshot from Skippers ice rifle made him jump and begin shooting again.

"No" Skipper took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. "They're dead" he was relieved at finally getting it out, but dreading Johnson's reaction to the news about the death of his fiancé and child.

Johnson dropped his rifle, shivering in the sudden coldness of his heart. "Who...Who killed them?" His voice cold and hard.

Skipper shot more frantically, now shooting for both him and Johnson as he seemed unaware of the current fighting.

"I don't know but we will kill them Johnson. For Manfredie" Skipper told him.

"And Argus, we were going to name it Argus if it was a boy, Charlotte if it was a girl" Johnson let the tears fall now, not even minding that he was crying in front of his teammate, his last teammate.

"Don't worry Johnson, we'll kill them. I promise, we'll-"

_BANG! _

The sound of the gunshot rang through the air.

For one moment, Skipper wasn't there.

He was back in the trench, reloading his rifle. The gunshot rang through the air and he saw the lifeless body of Argus.

Opening his eyes, he saw not the lifeless body of Argus...

...But of Johnson, bullet hole through the head and a puddle of red snow around his head.

"NOOOOO!" The angry cry erupted from his throat before he even had time to realize it.

Suddenly, there was the feeling of cold metal against the back of his head.

"Up" A female voice commanded.

A shiver ran through Skipper as he recognised the voice of his friends murderer.

He stood and turned.

Meeting the eyes of his Ex-wife.

"Karen"


	9. Left for dead

**Sorry it took me so long to upload**

**School is such a pain!**

**Anyway, this Chapter is dedicated to 'Sweety Kneul' Who's motivation got me to finish this chapter quicker!**

**Enjoy**

**~Donakiko**

* * *

><p>~\~

"Karen"

The tension hung in the air as if Death itself had muffled all the noise.

"Skipper" Karen copied, gun pointed to his face.

"Pen-gu-in" Blowhole said, appearing behind them with his own gun.

Blowhole laughed at Skipper's shocked face."What, you thought a little fire could kill me?"

"No, I thought me shooting you in the eye would" Skipper replied with a smirk of pride despite the situation. It disappeared as he glanced at Karen, thinking he saw her move slightly.

Blowhole scowled "You mean **THIS!**" Blowhole raised his fin tip to his now robot eye.

Skipper's smirk returned "Yes that". He slipped into battle stance, flippers raised in defence.

"I wouldn't do that Skipper" Karen told him calmly, not even fazed by the implied threat.

"And why not _Karen_?" Skipper breathed deeply as he tensed his body for the impending fight, Adrenaline pumping through his veins.

Karen smiled knowingly "Well what's a family reunion without the whole family?"

Skipper's heart froze when Karen stepped to her right, revealing Marley holding a terrified, shaking Private. 2 lobsters stood behind them with guns pointing at Marley's back.

Blowhole laughed as Skipper lowered his flippers to his side. Defeated.

"Pathetic" he turned to the two lobsters "Kill them"

"NOOO!" Skipper yelled at the top of his lungs.

2 shots of _BANG_ pierced the still air as Blood shot out from Marley's back, she chocked before falling on her side, her crimson blood staining the crisp white snow.

Skipper ran to her side.

…Or tried to.

Karen jumped in his path, releasing a kick to his head.

Skipper was dazed for a moment at the unexpected attack, tears stinging his eyes as he thought about his baby boy, possibly dead. He held up his flippers in front of his face, preparing to block any more attacks.

Karen seized the opportunity as Skipper shut his eyes to stop the tears. She launched a powerful front kick to his stomach.

Skipper doubled over as all the air left his lungs, spluttering at the lack of oxygen and the pain of the kick. He opened his eyes just a split second before Karen drove the butt of her rifle into his head.

Skipper collapsed on his side, letting the coolness of the frozen rain ease the ache slightly.

He shut his eyes tight as he saw Karen lift the rifle over her shoulder, ready to take a shot, but this time…

…Aiming for his head.

_Thump_

Skipper opened his eyes again as he heard the sound of something falling to the ground. He was met with the site of Karen standing without her rifle, which now lay on the ground, staring at him with wide, confused eyes.

"H..How did he?" She stammered before turning to yell at the two lobsters who had shot the captives.

Skipper's brow creased in confusion. He then felt a slow soft, but urgent nuzzling against his head. The nuzzling started anxious and nervous, then shrank into a calm cuddling.

Skipper turned his head, fighting against the pain and was met with the frightened, tear filled blue eyes of his son.

"Pr…Private?" Skipper asked, fearing he was imagining it. He reached out a flipper and touched Privates cheek.

Relieved at the touch of his father, Private snuggled into the flipper which was now cupped around his cheek. Placing one of his small feathery flippers around it, he pulled the piece of his father closer.

Skipper wrapped his other flipper around Privates back and quickly pulled him to his chest, tears now streaming down his face freely. "Oh Private…"

"Enjoy your moment Pen-gu-in" Skipper looked up from where he was nuzzling his sons head to see the maniac dolphin with his rifle trained on them. His blood filled with ice. "Cause it's ov-"

"Wait!" Karen shouted with a hint of desperation in her voice.

"What?" Blowhole turned back to her "Can't you see we're trying to have a dramatic Hero-Villain moment here" He said annoyed.

An evil smile graced Karen's face "But I have a better idea"

Skipper heard the crunch of snow under Karen's feet as she approached him. He instinctively pulled Private closer, tightening his grip.

Private looked up at him with wide, fearful eyes. Silently asking his daddy what was happening.

The crunching stopped.

Suddenly, Skipper realised how eerily quiet it was. The Sky had turned a light blue and the silence was almost torturing as he yearned to look around, see why the fighting had stopped. But he kept his eyes on Karen, his cold steely gaze practically willing her to catch fire and disappear from his life, to never exist.

It didn't work.

She leaned over him, staring. He stared back. A mental battle of will taking place between the two enemies.

She placed the barrel of her Rifle on Skippers head "I'll see you again Skipper"

And with that, Karen pulled the trigger

_Bang!_

~/\~

Marlene struggled to find the right words, her mind over crowding with a million questions.

_What did Karen mean? How did Private not get hit? Why did the fighting suddenly stop? How is Skipper still Alive?_

She chose the simplest one "Then how are you still alive?"

Skipper looked at her with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"I don't know"

~/\~

Pain erupted around Skippers body.

The origin of the pain coming from his leg.

A Dolphin Laugh he heard sounded like it was coming from the end of a tunnel, blowholes face coming from a dark, murky pond.

"Well done Agent K"

_What did he just call Karen? Agent?_

Realization hit him.

It was Karen who gained access to the headquarters. It was Karen who allowed the General to be killed. It was Karen who Killed Manfredie and Johnson and their baby.

Karen was the one who lead this attack on his home.

The last clear parts of Skippers vision suddenly filled black and red with rage, but when he tried to move to Karen, to attack…to **Kill** her, the pain in his body pushed away all thoughts and he couldn't stop the cry that escaped him.

A loud whimper made him freeze and put all his will power into hearing. He had already shut his eyes against the pain but he recognised that sound.

_Private._

"Blowhole" Karen addressed the maniac doctor "What about the boy?"

Of course, I had decided on the name 'Private' after he was born, when Karen had already left.

Blowhole let out a low chuckle as his scooter reared to life and began to drive away.

"Without Skipper looking after him, he won't last through to tonight"

_What is he talking about?_

Skipper managed with great determination to crack open one of his eye lids and slowly turned his leg at an angle so he could see his son who was standing near his foot.

His bloody foot.

All around the leg and foot was a crimson red, the blood covered the snow as well as ran across and down his feathers.

Skippers disgust at seeing his own blood was soon replaced by sheer terror as he realized how much of it there was.

Karen had shot him in the leg?

Why? She could've killed him right there?

Blowhole seemed to be wondering the same thing.

"Why didn't you kill him Agent K?"

Karen gave him a wry smile "I would think the reason would be obvious to you since you're a doctor?"

"Just answer the question" He demanded.

Karen's smile disappeared to show an emotionless face.

"Death by blood loss is slow and painful. A quick death would've been to easy"

Now Skipper had his reason.

She wanted him to suffer till death.

* * *

><p><strong>Review please!<strong>

**If I get enough Reviews, I'll post quicker!**

**So tell me what you like!**

**P.S. Dont you love this we thing-**

**~/\~**


	10. Saved by humans

**Bet no one thought I was gonna update so quickly? ^_^**

**Well after the amount of Review I got for the last chapter-**

**Which by the way, I'm honoured by-**

**How could I not write faster, hope you enjoy Chapter 10!**

**~Donakiko**

**(This chapter is dedicated to 'TheSkySpritsTalentShow' If you have time, read her story 'The Pairing Truth and Dare' It had me laughing for ages :D)**

* * *

><p>Marlene unconsciously glanced down at Skippers leg, her stomach churning in disgust at what that woman had done to him.<p>

Skipper caught her eye and lifted his leg to his chest, parting the feathers he showed her the long scar…

What caught Marlene's attention were the lines along it.

"Stitches?" She asked, gazing at him with confusion.

Skipper kept his eyes on the scar as the memory flashed through his head.

"Have you ever wondered why we stay in the zoo or perform to make the humans happy?"

Marlene shrugged.

"It's not just for our cover Marlene…"

"It's because they saved my life"

~/\~

When Skipper opened his eyes again, he found it was night. Karen and Blowhole were gone and the sky was in the cross from evening to night. The sky ablaze with a dark purple that was bordering on black and the stars were only beginning to become visible and an angry row of clouds was coming in from the north.

His leg was now numb. Partly from the snow, partly from the blood loss.

A slow steady breathing caught his attention and he tilted his head, fighting the pain to see his son curled up against his chest feathers asleep.

Breathing a sigh of relief that his son was okay, Skipper suddenly realised how tired he was.

His eyes began to drop, the sound around him fading until he could only hear his heart…slowly beating.

He closed his eyes, taking slow breaths. His mind telling him it was time to rest while every other part of his body told him to stay awake!

Their voices were to low against the demanding pull of his mind for Skipper to pay them any attention.

He took in his last breath…..

He cried out as a sudden white hot pain spread from his leg.

"DA!"

Skippers eyes snapped open as he sucked in a deep breath and realised how close he was to passing out. He looked around with wide alert eyes at the strange people surrounding him. One was checking his leg while a female one held a heavily sobbing Private. The two were wearing heavy ski jackets and fur lined boots with winter style thick jogging bottoms.

"This one's alive" The one checking his leg said in a deep voice he could only recognise as a male one.

"How?" The female one holding Private asked.

"I don't know Violet, but he's in pretty bad shape. Looks like he was shot in the leg" The male one examined.

"Bloody hell Adam" Violet breathed as she cuddled Private closer. "How could this little one still be alive then?"

"My guess is he cuddled to this one for warmth, his feathers are still ruffled" Adam straightened Skippers feathers before gently placing his hands under Skippers back and lifting him up to his chest. He manoeuvred Skipper so that his head was in the crook of Adams arm while the rest was kept straight on his forearm.

"Let's take them back to the centre" Violet told him as she walked towards their parked snowmobile.

Adam took one last long look at Skipper, making sure he was comfortable enough before telling Violet "Right behind ya" and following her.

~/\~

Skipper nodded at the fond memory "They brought us to a wildlife protection shelter and healed my leg"

~/\~

Skipper forced his eyes to stay open as Adam carried him down the sterile white walls.

"Hang on there buddy, we're gonna help ya" Adam whispered to him as they entered another room through one of the silver metal doors.

The room was tiled white on the walls and the floor, a cabinet along one of the walls and a standing mirror beside it. There was a desk in one of the corners and a sofa just beside the door. But what caught Skippers attention the most…

Was the examination table in the middle of the room.

Panic seized him and he immediately began fighting against Adam's hold, he stiffened when pain replaced the numbness he previously felt and a strangely warm hand was pressed to his chest.

"Calm down buddy, you're alright…or at least you will be once we get that bullet out of you." Adam told him in a soothing voice that somehow made Skipper want to trust him.

He looked up at Adams face, without the fur rimmed hood he could clearly see his face.

Adam couldn't have been more than 19, his clear pale skin making his light brown hair stand out. His light green eyes seemed bottomless, filled with wisdom far beyond his years. As if he's seen things that no one else should.

Not knowing if Adam would understand, Skipper none the less nodded his head in agreement. Telling Adam he wouldn't attempt to fight him anymore.

A shocked smile spread on Adams face as he shook his head "Come on Ad, you're imagining thing…..DOC!"

Skipper only now noticed white haired man standing hunched over the desk, the man wearing a lab coat instantly told Skipper to be on his guard.

"Adam?" A whisper of a voice came from the man's mouth "I thought you and Violet were going to see what the smoke was up at glacier peak?"

"We did Doc" Adam nodded, placing Skipper on the examining table.

The smell of hospitals and medicine filled Skippers nostrils when he was placed on the cold metal table.

"And, how are all the penguins that live there?" Doc asked him as he opened the cabinet and picked out a roll of bandages.

"Lived" Adam corrected, a haunted look in his eyes "They're all dead"

A knot formed in Skipper's stomach at the news…_All of them, they can't __all__ be dead…Can they?_

"A…All of them?" Doc stuttered.

Adam nodded "Apart from the 3 males we rescued, one of which is just a chick"

Doc shook his head "To be so young, possibly lost his parents then"

"I don't think so Doc. The mother, yes. But he was cuddling to this one when we found them, I think it's the father" Adam told him, scratching Skipper's neck with one of his fingers.

Unable to deny that it felt good, Skipper unknowingly shook his foot.

Doc laughed "Are you sure that's not a dog in a penguin costume?"

A soft laughter filled the room as the door opened again and Violet walked in.

"I think we're sure."

Skipper felt Adams finger be removed from the spot on his neck and he turned his head to get a view of Violet.

Violet had long thick blonde hair which hung down in her shoulders, framing her slim face. The slight bangs on either side of her forehead making her soft brown eyes stand out against her slightly tanned skin. She had taken off her jacket and was wearing a salmon V-neck T-shirt with her dark Irish Green jogging bottoms.

She held Private in the crook of her elbow and was currently feeding him from a bottle what Skipper could only guess to be some kind of liquefied fish solution.

"How is he?" Adam asked, gesturing to private and trying to keep a blush down in front of his partner.

The smile on Violet's rosy lips slowly dropped to a defeated frown.

"I still can't get him to eat anyth-"

"DA!" Private yelled as he began struggling against Violet and trying to get to Skipper.

"Hold on little one, you can see him after he has an operation" Violet told him as she sat down on the sofa, trying to keep a grip on Private.

After letting Doc remove the bullet using a pair of specialized tweezers, Skipper continued to steal glances at Private. Hoping to tell him it was alright. That was until the white haired mans next port of call in caring for the injured penguin.

Skipper glared at Doc as he held up a syringe, It looked strange-

His whole leg suddenly flared white hot with pain as the doctor injected the substance into his leg.

"That should prevent any infections" Doc told them as he put the needle into a bin bag.

Doc pulled out some bandages from the roll and tried to grab Skippers leg to apply them.

Skipper however had other ideas.

As soon as Doc's hand was within reach, Skipper kicked his good leg out and hit Doc's hand at a pressure point. Enabling his hand, completely numb.

"FOR THE LOVE OF-"

"SHHHH!" Violet shushed as she tried to keep a hold on Private who had renewed his escape efforts after seeing his father in pain.

Adam looked at Doc, who was holding his hand to his chest. To Skipper, who was trying in vain to get off the table and to his son.

"STOP!"

Everyone in the room froze and looked at Adam.

"Violet give me the chick, I have an idea" Violet instantly held out Private and let Adam take him into his arms. Knowing her partner would be careful with the baby penguin.

Adam placed Private on the examination table and let him waddle over to Skipper and collapse into his flippers.

Skipper held him close, though not taking his steely blue eyes off the Doc.

Adam held out his hand to Doc after grabbing some stitching thread and a needle from the cabinet "Give me the bandages please"

Doc used his good hand to give Adam the roll of bandages before going back to cradling his hand.

Adam pulled over a chair from the desk and sat down on it beside the table. He looked Skipper squarely in the eye before holding up the bandages and nodding towards his bleeding leg.

Skipper stared back into those light green eyes and saw nothing but trust and want to help. He lowered his guard just enough for Adam to stitch the gash and wrap the bandage, gently but securely around his leg.

Violet held up the bottle again and this time, as long as Skipper was alive and well, Private ate.

They left Skipper and Private in the room on the sofa over night to allow them to adjust.

It was the first most peaceful night Skipper could remember with his son.

~/\~

A smile spread across Skippers face "I owed everything to Violet and Adam"

Marlene raised her brow in confusion "Owed. As in past tense?"

Skippers smile grew "I never leave a debt unpaid Marlene"

* * *

><p><strong>I decided to give you all a break from the cliff hangers since I don't want to be<strong>

**sued for giving anyone heart attacks.**

**So what do you think so far?**

**Please Review, they let me know my story is read and enjoyed.**


	11. Proposal

**Sorry it took me a while to write, but I hope this chapter makes it up to you.**

**P.S. If you're like Rico and have Love mush Sickness, I would suggest not reading unless you actually want to**  
><strong>Puke your stomach up :P<strong>

**This is dedicated to MadagascarMaster, who by the way, Is totally AWESOME! Especially for talking to when I'm having writers block XD**

**On with the chapter**

_**~Donakiko**_

* * *

><p>Skipper laughed softly "If I hadn't helped Adam, he never would have popped the question"<p>

Marlene's eyes lit up "He proposed, who to?"

Skipper met her gaze, his eyes shining with happiness,

"Who do you think?"

~/\~

Skipper walked around in the outdoor recovery space of the centre.

They had been there for 3 months now and had gotten used to the routine of feeding, check-ups, walks, visits from Adam and Violet, Staying far away from Doc and the social groups.

He watched the large groups of penguins in the yard. Every penguin was in a specific group, the alphas, the females, the nerds, the former military soldiers (Though Skipper didn't trust them), the mothers and their chicks and so on.

The yard was a large rectangle space filled with crisp snow and some strange green plants. There was a long chain linked fence surrounding it as well as on top for a roof. Though why they needed a roof when penguins couldn't fly was beyond Skipper. Private waddled beside him, sometimes stopping to play with the snow.

Some of the mothers cast confused looks at them and then pulled their young away when they tried to go say hello.

Skipper felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to find the only other survivor of Blowholes attack.

"Good morning Skipper" Nigel greeted him.

"You too Nigel" Skipper returned, he looked down when he saw Private practically jumping with excitement.

"Unc'e Nigel!" Private ran over to his surrogate uncle and wrapped his small flippers around his stomach.

Nigel laughed softly as he returned the hug. "Hello to you to Private" He let go of Private before turning back to Skipper with dead serious eyes. "I have the Intel you wanted on the two humans who found us"

Skipper nodded, putting on a smile, he bent down to level his face with Privates. "Bet you I can beat your snow castle you made yesterday"

Private shook his head at the challenge and ran to one of the mounds of snow to begin building a snow castle.

Skippers face grew serious "And?"

Nigel allowed a small smirk "Nothing suspicious, they're just two 20 year olds who were transferred here from two zoos, the girl from California and the boy from England."

"Any additional information?" The way Adam was acting for the past week made Skipper uneasy.

"Other than the fact that the boy's birthday was last month and the girl's is tomorrow…nothing" Nigel explained to him.

Relief flowed into Skipper like a small stream…

The suddenly a dam was built, blocking the flow.

"And what about Karen and Blowhole?"

The question caught Nigel off guard and for a moment he could only stand there with his beak open, shocked that Skipper still thought about that.

"Anything?" Skipper prompted.

"Y…Yes, apparently some of the other workers had been talking about a rumoured Dolphin sighting…not far from here" Nigel looked down and began shifting his foot in the snow, creating a powdery wall around it.

Skipper sighed heavily as he rubbed his temple. The sound of the gate opening put him on high alert. "Act normal!"

"I'm a secret agent/Commando penguin who's trained in 4 different fighting styles and how to use a gun… How can you make that normal?" Nigel asked him with a wry smile before going over to sit with Private.

Skipper turned to see who had entered through the gate and relaxed when he saw Adam.

"Hey Bud, how are you doing?" He asked, kneeling down to Skippers level, the snow clinging to his jeans and the red hoodie he was wearing with black confers. What caught Skippers attention was the strange lump in one of Adams jean pockets.

Over the past few months, Skipper realized that when the humans talk to them they don't expect an answer back. That suited Skipper just fine, less reason to suspect them of wanting to pry information from him.

Adam looked over at Private who was slapping some more snow on one of the walls. His brows creased in confusion before he shook his head and turned back to Skipper.

"Um… Look Bud, I kinda need your help?"

Now it was Skippers turn to be confused as he kept a wary eye on Adams pale hand as it reached into his pocket and pulled out a small purple velvet box.

He opened it to reveal a gold ring. In the centre of the ring was a rectangle shaped diamond, two emeralds gleamed on each side of it.

The light glance off the diamond hit Skippers eye and he stepped back to avoid being blinded.

Adam laughed "Don't worry, I'm not asking you. I want you to help me ask Violet-" He stopped for a moment before standing up and pacing, the snow crunching with every step. "What am I doing?, Geez Adam, You're asking a penguin to help you ask the most amazing girl in the world to marry you!" A chuckled darkly, pressing his palm to his fore head "Yea, that'll go over like a lead balloon"

He stopped pacing and stared at the opened box in his hand.

"Maybe I should just forget all about it?"

Skipper had just about enough. Without a second thought, he ran at Adam and jumped into the air, snatching the box from Adams hand in his beak and running at the still open gate.

"HEY!" Adam shouted After him.

Skipper made a last ditch sprint for the gate, jumping over the metal bar on the ground below the frame, he round house kicked the gate shut, locking Adam inside.

Not stopping to check if Adam was following him, Skipper jumped down onto his belly and slid across the smooth slippery ice.

This was the first time he had been outside the centre, glancing over his shoulder he saw that the centre was a large brick building with a glass domed roof. The sun was high in the sky and it cast an almost heavenly light on the surrounding area as the ray shone through the glass dome which in turn sent diamonds of rainbow light on the ice, which again sent light streaming in all directions.

He saw the blonde head of Violet on one of the cylinder shaped sand dunes. A slope reaching the flat top where sat with her nature book.

She wore a pink winter coat and yellow scarf which her hair hung over. Her cream jogging bottoms tucked into her brown fluffy boats which she stood to when she saw skipper approaching her.

"Hey little guy, How'd you get out?" she asked, using one of her gloved hands to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

Skipper slid up the slope and stood below her, dropping the box at her feet.

"What's th-"

"VIOLET!" Adam shouted, running the slope to them.

"Hey Adam, what's wrong?" Violet asked as she bent to pick up the box.

Adams hand snatched it from the ground a second before her and he shot a glare at Skipper.

Skipper replied with an innocent look which made Adams anger melt.

With his heart pounding in his chest…

Adam got to one knee.

Violet stepped back as a hand went to her mouth.

"Violet Marie Evens…" Adam began, seeing tears well up in Violets eyes.

"You've been my research partner, rescue partner and best friend for as long as I can remember…Whenever I look back on my life, you've always been there…and I don't want the rest of my life to be any different… I want to spend it with the most beautiful, amazing and caring woman in the world…The one I love with all my heart… I love you Violet"

A tear ran down Violets tanned cheek as her eyes shone with uncontrollable happiness.

Adam opened the box and smiled when Violet gasped. Then, with one deep, nervous breath…

"Will you marry me?"

"YES!" Violet Screamed as she tackled Adam to the ground in a hug, the two of them laughing as they rolled down the slope, Skipper just barley jumping out of the way.

~/\~

"I thought everything was beginning to lighten up then…" Skipper told her when she returned from the fridge with two glasses of ice cold water.

"Then came the morning Private was sent away…"

* * *

><p><strong>Skipper: Don't review, Maybe then She'll stop writing this about me!<strong>

**Me: Great idea, Review and I'll keep writing... And also cause it annoys skipper XP**

**Skipper: That's NOT what I meant!**

**REVIEW!**


	12. Taken

**Dear readers...**

**I deeply apologise for being late to update. But I had caught the most horrible disease know to**

**all Author kind.**

**WRITERS BLOCK!**

**Also this is dedicated to 'Tenma Matsukaze' who helped me through the recent illness.**

**ENJOY! :P**

**P.S. Kowalski helped me write that.**

* * *

><p>Skipper's face wore a guilty expression.<p>

"It's my fault Private was sent away… If I'd kept a closer eye on him…"

"…He might not have been put in that truck"

~/\~

Skipper sat on the examination table in the infirmary room he had first been brought to when they arrived. He flexed the muscles in his leg as Adam unwrapped the bandage he had to wear until the stitches dissolved as a precaution to avoid them being pulled out by accident (Or in Skippers case, on purpose)

Adam gave a small laugh "You sure heal fast little guy"

Skipper smiled inwardly, ever since the proposal Adam had been happier than Skipper had ever seen him. And judging by the looks the other humans gave him when he walked past with an unlimited air of Happiness and goofy grin, they hadn't seen him this happy either.

Adam gave him a sly smirk before holding up a treat Skipper had grown quite fond of… penguin chocolate-cubes. He gave it to skipper who didn't waste a moment before stuffing it into his beak.

The sweetness slid down his throat and settled in his stomach, giving his body a slight tingling happiness.

BANG!

Skipper and Adam both turned to the door which had been pushed open with such force that the tile on the wall cracked when the handle hit against it. Standing in the door frame, was violet with tears running down her cheeks.

"Vi?" Adam said as he ran to Violet, catching her in his arms before she fell to the ground sobbing.

"Hey love, what's wrong?" They both sat there on the ground, violet on Adams lap with her arms around his neck crying into his chest, Adam with his arm around her waist and hand behind her head.

"He…He's gone…they…they took him..Wi..With..The others" Violet answered between sobs.

"Took who?" Adam asked as Skipper walked up beside him, trying to figure out what was going on.

"The… The chick…"

Coldness clasped Skipper's heart like a sudden fog as he realised what she meant and for one moment, he couldn't breathe.

_Private…_

Then without thinking, Skipper ran. He ran through the open door and slid down the tiles of the hallway on his belly, weaving and dodging the legs of the other human workers, ignoring the surprised noises they made. His blood was rushing in his ears and only one thought ran though his head.

_Private, where are you?_

He was approaching the end of the hallway and at the end was a fire escape door. A human man was opening the door, probably too lazy to find another way out but this suited Skipper.

When he opened the door, Skipper slid through his legs and into the cold air. The ice giving him an extra push. He jumped to his feet and scanned the surroundings. Nothing unusual.

Then a familiar noise reached his ear holes…

"DADDY!"

Skipper Half-turned and saw behind him two black trucks with army green covers over the backs. Two men in black uniforms were leaning against one while a third was holding a cage with three baby penguins in it.

One of which was Private.

Rage filled Skipper like an active volcano as he charged at the man holding the cage and executed a perfect front kick to his knee.

A sickening crack filled the air as the man dropped the cage and fell to the ground, clutching his knee and screaming in agony.

Skipper didn't pause. He caught the cage before it hit the ice and reached one of his flippers through the bars, stroking his son's cheek. He glared at the two men who were trying to approach, daring them to try something.

A sound like a 'shoot' cut through the tension and pain hit the back of Skippers neck.

He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

~/\~

"What happened?" Marlene asked him.

Skipper absently rubbed the back of his neck "I think it was a tranquilizer dart, but it didn't matter to me then. I had failed"

"No you didn't" Marlene tried to reassure him, placing a comforting paw on his back "You have Private now, it doesn't matter, the past is the past. No one can change that"

Skipper gave her a wry smile "You know Marlene, you're pretty smart…for a mammal"

Skipper had barely finished his sentence before a sardine was smacked into his mouth.

"Oh just swallow that and finish the story" Marlene told him rebelliously.

Skipper swallowed and gave a small laugh before continuing.

~/\~

As Skipper came to the first sound he heard was Violets voice.

"LET HIM GO!"

A short gasp was followed by Adam's enraged shout.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!"

Skipper opened his eyes to see what was going on and the first thing he noticed was that his cheek was pressed against a cool, hard metal. It was a few seconds before he realised he was in a cage in the second truck.

He looked through the bars a caught a glimpse of one of the uniformed men restraining Violet. Or at least he was before Skipper blinked, then the uniformed man was lying on the ground nursing a bruised cheek with Adam standing over him with a clenched fist.

Bottomless green eyes met icy blue for a millisecond before the truck roared to life and drove away.

Adam chased it, Violet behind him but as the truck picked up speed Adam fell behind. Their eyes met again and Skipper saw something pass over them. A promise. This wasn't over and Adam knew it.

What the promise was Skipper couldn't figure out. He simply settled himself down for the drive.

~/\~

"That's when I was transferred to this zoo, I was marked as troublesome because I attacked one of the men and Alice hasn't stopped being suspicious since"

Marlene raised her brow "That's why Alice is always on you guys, seriously?"

Skippers eyes widened slightly, the rest of his face going emotionless.

"What's wr-"

"Shh" Skipper silenced her. Then…

BOOM!

The explosion made Private jump involuntarily, which unfortunately caught Skipper's attention.

"Private, what are you doing here?"

"I..was um…" Private searched his mind for any kind of excuse, all attempts went downhill when he realised he was failing.

"That can wait" Marlene cut in "It sounded like it came from your habitat"

Even though it was only one word, Skipper had put as much hate as possible into it.

"Karen…"

* * *

><p><strong>Ooooooohhhh gonna be getting dark from here on out. <strong>

**Just in case anyone was wondering why this is rated T, that is soon to come.**

**Also, Skippers flashbacks end here. Just letting you know.**

**Skipper: And for those who are reviewing just to annoy me... STOP IT!**

**Me: Nope, please review, it's funny living with an annoyed Skippy ^_^**

**Skipper: Don't call me that!**

**Me: Also Reviewers get a chocolate penguin lolly :)**

**Skipper: Bribery!**

**Me: Says you!**


	13. No air

**Beware everyone, This is where I may begin to push the T rating. **

**An extra long chapter because my muse has finally gotten over her laziness.**

**This Chapter is dedicated to 'BlueNinjahCat97' for proof reading the preview.**

**Enjoy ~/\~**

* * *

><p>Skipper and Private rounded a corner on their bellies, urging themselves to go as fast as they could. Praying they weren't too late, even though they could see a column of smoke rising into the night sky from their habitat. A hazy orange light below it, as though highlighting their destination.<p>

_Rico… Kowalski…_

Skipper heart pounded in his chest as the blood rushed through his body. _That woman!_

She had tormented his old life and now she had returned and Skipper had no doubts that she trying to do the same again. This time she dragged his team into it. She had killed Manfredie and Johnson, tried to kill him and their son.

He cast a quick glance over his left shoulder at Privates ashen face, staring at the smoke.

Skipper turned back to watch where they were going as they dodged a pretzel vendor.

_If Karen thinks she can do the same to my team she is __**dead**__ wrong…_

As they passed the lemur habitat a sudden wave of heat knocked them back, making them crash into the wall.

Spots exploded in Privates vision as he shook his head to clear out the ringing in his ears.

It was then he realised the noise wasn't coming from his ears and it wasn't ringing. There was one thing he recognised…

The smell of burning.

"Sk…Skippah" Private asked to get his leader and fathers attention.

Skipper shook his head before turning to his son. Meeting his eyes, they both turned to their base.

Skippers breath caught in his throat.

What was once the concrete island surrounded by cool water was now smoking embers and scattered pieces of rubble polluting the once clear water a murky black with ash. The concrete was cracked and broken off as piles of wood burned away, the hazy orange light from a still burning fire which covered the top, even the fishbowl entrance was opened and smoke was flying out and joining the pillar of blackness that was still rising.

The light of the fire against the smoke looked demonic, but as it all clashed against the dark blue sky and smothered what little signs of stars there were, it gave the penguins a view of what appeared to be hell.

The radiating heat hit Skipper and Privates faces even from their distance of 10 feet from what was once their home.

"Rico…" Private chocked.

"Kowalski…" Skipper said in a mournful voice.

Then like a river breaking a dam, Skipper feelings of sadness and pity disappeared and were replaced by a strong determination and rage. Karen had taken his life, his friends and his trust away from him. He stood up on shaky legs, glaring at his base like it was an enemy he had to overcome.

And with one last look at Private's fearful eyes. He took a deep breath.

And ran towards the flames.

~/\~

Private continued to look on at the smoking habitat in horror, a cold stone forming in the pit of his stomach.

2 members of his family were probably in there…Being burned alive.

And he was sitting there, completely useless.

A movement to his left caught his attention as he saw Skipper rise unsurely to his feet. He met Privates eyes, a strong look of determination radiation deeply in them. Private had only seen that look once before.

When Skipper was about to do something suicidal.

And that's when Skipper made a mad dash for the burning habitat.

"SKIPPAH!" Private yelled after him as Skipper jumped the fence and dived beak first into the black water.

Private gulped down the lump in his throat and leaning on the wall for support, he pulled himself to his feet. His legs felt like jelly and for a moment he thought about just sitting there and waiting for Skipper to come back.

_NO! I'm not a baby, I'm a trained soldier and if Skippah really is my dad then that means I can be as brave as him!_

Taking a deep breath, Private stared at the flames and in one moment, his feet pushed against the ground and he set off running to the habitat.

The heat continued to grow the closer he got until he was sweating under his feathers, in the blistering heat even the black murky water looked cool and refreshing.

There was no sign of Skipper. Only the ripples on the water as burning debris landed on the surface and sunk, the cringling and crackling of the flames filling his ears, drowning out any other noise.

Private reached to grab one of the bars of the gate, he decided against it when he felt the heat radiating off it and went for Skipper approach. Private leapt over the top of the fence and landed on one of the few clear spots on the concrete island, the heat beneath his feet near unbearable as he jumped from one foot to the other.

Looking down at the fishbowl hole, the smoke still rising from it.

Private took in a deep breath, filling his lungs with as much oxygen as was available, pinched the tip of his beak and jumped through the hole. The smoke passing through and blackening his feathers.

~/\~

Skipper was going blind.

The near black water he was swimming in completely obscuring his vision, he reached around, his flippers feeling for the button to open the emergency exit to the base.

_Judging by the smoke coming out of the fishbowl hole the fires worse inside, I've taught Kowalski and Rico well. They'll know that when there's a fire and they're trapped to stay on the ground where the air is cleaner and use one of the emergency exits. The worst case right now is that Karen's trapped them…_

The mere thought of what the woman who tried to ruin his life could be doing to his team was enough to drive Skipper on, he felt a circular object on the wall just as he felt his air running low.

_YES!_

He pressed the button, it stuck.

_What?_

He continued to press harder on the button, pushing his shoulder against it and kicking his feet to get enough pressure. Yet the button still stood firm.

_Someone's locked it?_

One thought ran through his mind.

_KAREN!_

Skipper gave up on the button and pushed off the wall and began to swim upwards. The fire above casting a bright orange light through the darkness, his air began to run even lower as he kicked harder.

Suddenly the light seemed to split and something hit the water, crashing down through the surface at an incredible speed. Skipper only had time to recognise it as part of the gate before it crashed into him, knocking the last of the air from his lungs. The bubbles erupted from his beak, an unheard scream of pain as he was dragged further and further away from the oxygen filled outside by the crushing weight on his chest.

Blackness crept around the edges of his vision as he felt himself drifting, deeper and deeper in nothing…

~/\~

The moment Privates feet hit the ground inside the base he was hit with a wave of heat and chocked on the smoke.

He lay down on his belly to reach the cleaner air.

Opening his eyes, Private was met with only the Cement blocks of the table and the stand for the T.V. The rest of the H.Q was covered in darkness as smoke rose to the top.

Even thought the air was cleaner on the ground Private still had to cover his beak with his flipper to keep out the smoke.

One thing he didn't see however…

…Was Kowalski or Rico.

_Where are they?_

CLANG!

Private's heart leapt to his throat as Panic rose in his chest. After hearing that sound for years he easily recognised the sound of the hatch closing.

He was trapped and now the smoke was filling up the empty space, choking out his only air.

* * *

><p><strong>Yep, now you probably hate me because I've left our two penguins in death situations.<strong>

**I'm not sure whether I'll kill them or not.**

**Review if you want them to live!**

_**~Donakiko**_


	14. gone but back

**Well, I decided to update quickly due to how much everyone was freaking out when I left Skipper and Private in those situations.**

**Enjoy...and please no more heart attacks XP**

**This chapter is dedicated to 'reidswife' Who is new to fanfiction and has been a faithful reader ^_^ **

**On with the story!**

* * *

><p><em>I'm sorry dad...<em>

That was Private last thought as he fell on his back and the smoke covered him, he released what was left of his preserved air from his lungs and almost welcomed the smoke. Skipper would never know that he died here thinking about him, that he was sorry for not believing him about being his dad...That he loved him.

His vision blurred and faded. He couldn't recognise his base as it looked like a painted picture that had been left out in heavy rain.

He lost consciousness just as a hand was pressed behind his back and lifted him from the ground, towards the now open fishbowl.

It was too late...

~/\~

Marlene paced the room of her habitat, twiddling her fingers anxiously.

_Okay, breathe girl. It's Skipper, the explosion was probably just something in Kowalski's lab and now Skipper is giving him a lecture or something. But then Private would have come and told me… GAH, why do boys have to make me worry like this…_

Marlene walked down the tunnel still deep in thought. One part of her wanting to go check on them and another arguing that Skipper would just say something about mammals being worried easier than birds.

As she sat down on the concrete, paddling her feet in the water of her pond with her eyes closed, she realised the part that wanted to check on her friends was her heart.

_What was it my mom used to say? Oh right… 'When making a choice, always go with your heart but bring you brain along for the ride' _

Marlene breathed deeply through her nose and choked as the air was more smoke then oxygen.

"Wait, smoke?" Marlene asked out loud to herself, opening her eyes and silently gasping at the column of smoke coming up off to the right. The grey smoke clashing with the black sky.

Cold realization dawned on her as she jumped to her feet.

_Guys…_

Going with her heart, Marlene set off to the penguin habitat.

~/\~

Blackness completely crowded Skippers vision.

There was no feeling, no sounds, no smells, no sights.

The only thing there was, was a feeling of almost weightlessness as he stared into the void of white above him.

Almost…

It seemed there was only one thing keeping him grounded, if only he could remember…but he couldn't see anything, there was nothing. He began to think he'd had no life, nothing to create memories with…

He couldn't feel anything, not even air in his lungs…

There must not be any, he thought. For some reason he felt he should be worried by that. But he wasn't.

It seemed natural that he wasn't breathing, why would he be?

Then a small voice called out to him through the darkness.

_Skipper…_

Was that his name? Where they even calling for him? Maybe if I just ignore it they'll-

_Skipper!…_

The voice was calling more urgently now and there was no mistaking it. It was directed at him.

Then the darkness melted, the light faded and he felt something rising in his stomach a kind of liquid, was he being sick?

Then the water rushed out of his mouth as he felt a hand on him, turning him on his side. His eyes closed, when he opened them he could only see blurs. The one in front of him was a light brown.

"Marlene?" He asked weakly, recognising the words as they came from his mouth.

The voice replied "Ya got it wrong there bro" Another hand was placed on his lower abdomen.

Sudden alertness filled him as Skipper pulled back and kicked the blurs knee, at least he thought it was his knee?

A pained gasp came from the blur as a female voice called him.

"SKIPPER!"

Skipper vision cleared as he recognised the owner of that voice,

"MARLENE!" He jumped to his feet…

…or tried to, an immense pain shot through his chest causing him to cry out and fall down on his back.

Marlene's voice was now filled with panic "Skipper, are you alright?"

It was then that Skipper noticed he was lying on the path of the zoo just across from the flaming habitat, some of the rubble on top of the base had been knocked away and into the water.

"Ya have a broken rib, so don't move ya knucklehead!" The earlier voice told him.

Skipper looked through watery eyes, ignoring the pain while he fought the panic that rose when he recognised Karen's badger companion.

"You" Skipper told him threateningly "What are you doing here?"

The badger sighed "Relax man, da boss-" He caught himself "Karen, ain't here"

"Then where is she?" Skipper asked again, putting his flippers by his sides and pushing himself up gently "And what are you doing here?"

"Well, we're-" The badger was cut off as the fishbowl was blown open with a loud 'BANG!'. Smoke erupted from the small hole as a light brown badger's head came out, choking on the smoke.

"SHAUNA!" The brown badger ran toward the fence and front-flipped over it, landing with practised ease. He knelt down by the hole, wrapping his arms around one of Shauna's. He frowned when she shrugged him off.

Skipper was too far away to hear what was being said between the two, but he could tell it was bad when the brown badger paused and stared at Shauna like he was mentally picking which flowers would look best on her grave.

Shauna grimaced like she was carrying a huge weight as the brown badger reached his arms down the hole and helped her to pull something out. Skipper's heart leapt to his throat when he recognised the unconscious penguin.

"PRIVATE!" Skipper ignored the pain and pressed his flippers while rolling on his side. He pushed himself up onto his feet and balanced himself before running to the fence, noticing the piece that tried to kill him was missing as the fence hung at a slight angle towards the water.

He pressed his beak between two of the bars and hung on to them. "Private…"

Marlene appeared beside him, her eyes filled with concern as her eye darted between the badgers hauling Private from the base and the lump on Skipper's chest, the broken rib pushing out against his muscle.

Skipper never noticed her. His full attention was focused on his son whose feathers were completely black with smoke and ash and some singed from the heat. Black spots danced across his sight as the pain in his chest intensified, he fought to stay conscious long enough to check on Private.

Now he was close enough to hear the two badgers conversation.

"How is he Chase?" Shauna asked in a worried tone as she knelt down on the cleared space on the concrete, her hands on her thighs.

The brown badger, Chase, removed his hand from Private's neck as he lay him down on his back. "His lungs are filled with smoke….I..I don't think…"

That was all Skipper heard before the darkness claimed him and he fell, his head hitting hard off the ground.

* * *

><p><strong>I couldn't give you guys a complete break from cliffhangers though XP sorry<strong>

**Here's a math sum!**

**New Chapter + Reviews= Happy Author**

**Happy Author = Happy muse**

**Happy Muse = Faster updates**

**And finally- Faster updates = Happy readers!**

**So reviews actually make you happy! As well as me ^_^**

**So make everyone happy!**


	15. decision made

**Yes, I'm horrible, I haven't updated in forever!  
>But We've been picking our GCSE's and I've had to work my<br>butt off to be able to qualify for my subjects. Anyways, I'm back and will  
>still work on this story...I'm not giving up on it that easy ;D<strong>

_**~Donakiko**_

* * *

><p><strong>Hipturtle15<strong> - Hope this chapter answers your questions…although I can't reveal the answer to the last question JUST yet…that would be cheating, though it will be unexpected.

**Madagascarmaster** – AWESOME! Can you teach me t speak dinosaur? I think Kowalski would like to learn that too ^_^

**Sweety kneul**- NO! not the cookie! Lol, glad you enjoyed it…but please don't kill me 0_0

**TheSkySpritsTalentShow** – Yes Skipper, we all hate you so I don't care, wow great statistics Kowalski, thanks *Gives Kowalski bunch of stuff to build something*

**StoriesAreMagic** - Yea, I agree, the situation right now is pretty (Censored)

**BlueNinjaCat97** - Sorry I didn't update soon, but one you read…maybe you'll me happy ;)

* * *

><p>Skipper came to with the smell of vanilla and raspberries. If anything all they did was make him want to stay unconscious a little longer…<p>

"Alright Shauna, it aint workin. My turn"

SLAP!

Skipper sucked in a deep breath as a stinging pain hit his cheek. He opened his eyes and glared at Chase who was looking at him with an innocent smile.

"You're welcome" Chase said, smiling bigger.

_You're welcome? Why you little…..OOF!_

Skipper was temporarily knocked senseless as the small black and white flash crashed into him, sending a dull wave of pain through his body.

He looked down to see his son nuzzling against his chest.

"PRIVATE?" Skipper smiled, barely believing it.

"Don't scare me like that again dad!" Private told him, looking Skipper in the eye.

Skipper faltered for a moment. _He called me dad? _The smile returned as Skipper returned the hug. "I'll try son"

"Skipper, how are you feeling?" Marlene asked as she sat down beside them.

Skipper caught her eye, momentarily lost at how angelic her face appeared in contrast to the orange and pink of the dawning suns light against the clouds. The birds sang a sweet tune and he could hear water trickling nearby, for that brief moment…everything was at peace. Then Skipper stirred himself and forced himself to focus on the task.

Two of his teammates were missing, his psychotic Ex-wife was nowhere to be found and two of his enemies had saved him and his son's lives.

Speaking of which…

"Why did you two help us?" Skipper asked, directing his gaze at the two badgers.

Chase and Shauna locked eyes before dropping them to the ground.

"We couldn't let Karen kill you" Shauna managed to squeak out.

_So it was Karen…_

"And before you ask" Chase began "Yes, Karen does have your teammates. We tried to secure them, but it was either grab them and risk all of us being killed or let them go and save your lives"

"That still doesn't explain why you're here?" Private pointed out.

_Ha, he's getting more like Skipper…_ Marlene thought _…That'll be a problem…_

Chase sighed heavily and placed a hand on his head. "Look, we don't have time to explain. The zoo opens in 4 hours and the keepers will be here soon to check on everything, they may have already seen the smoke cloud from your habitat, I mean COME ON, it's pretty hard to miss" Chase removed the hand from his hand and gestured to the thinning column of smoke from a few hours previous.

As much as Skipper hated to admit it, Chase was right- What the fish?

This was the first time Skipper was able to get a good look at the badgers and the blazing pink/orange light of the rising sun made all their features stand out like black on white.

Chase was about Skipper height with dark brown fur and a white patch on his stomach, a scar ran across his forehead before curving down and over his eye and cheek, disappearing beneath his chin. A black leather belt dropped over his hips, an army knife with a red fabric wrap handle tucked inside a holster on it. His grey eyes had a calm look that Skipper found as changeable as the weather.

It was clear that he had seen a lot of battle, but he couldn't be more than twenty.

Shauna on the other hand looked around 16. Her light brown fur covered her body to her knees and then black fur took over, looking like she was wearing boots. Her bright blonde hair was tied back with a pink ribbon in a pony tail. An orange running jacket was tied around her waist, making her grey eyes stand out in contrast to the bright neon colour, but unlike Chase's calm, dangerous look…hers were filled with happiness and hope. Her black fingerless leather gloves were holding the strap of a pink shoulder bag.

They both looked so different but seemed comfortable with each other…like they had been born together.

Shauna saw Skipper's eyes looking over them both "Oh, we haven't been introduced yet" She knelt down beside him and Private, holding out one of her gloved hands with a friendly smile "I'm Shauna and this is my brother Chase, we don't mean any harm"

Chase simply nodded at them.

Shauna caught Private's fearful look in his eyes "Oh, and we're sorry for attacking you earlier. We didn't know if you were a threat and it was our job to protect Karen-"

"Why?" Skipper cut her off "Why did you need to protect her?"

Chase bowed his head to his chest and Skippers breath was caught in his throat as a teardrop fell to the ground below him.

Shauna looked over her shoulder at her brother and also bowed her head

"Blowhole…She's working for Blowhole"

Skipper's grip on Private instantly tightened, as if trying to protect him from the threat even though he was probably miles and miles away.

"And…he…" Tears began to spill down Shauna's cheeks.

Skipper looked up at her, feeling a strange case of concern "He what?"

To their surprise, Chase answered.

"He has our mom, it was either…we help her get her son back and protect her from you and your team…or we'll nevah see our mom again"

Skipper felt Private shift his weight and turned they turned their heads to meet each other's gaze. Blue eyes met blue and an understanding passed between them.

"That settles it then…" Skipper began.

Chase, Shauna and Marlene looked at Skipper in confusion.

Private smiled "We're going after them"


	16. heartless, cold, unforgiving

**Okay okay, I know I haven't updated in forever and I know this is pitifully short but I promise. The next one will be longer and up sooner.**

**You can blame the worst disease of all fanfiction authors...Writers block!**

**That and the prison of all children...school! I have my GCSE choices coming up soon so I needed to work hard.**

**Don't worry, I'll post soon and I'm really sorry for the wait.**

**~Donakiko**

* * *

><p>Blowhole stared at the computer screen as his soldier badgers helped his enemies into a train…everything was going according to plan. He turned on his segway to face the two penguins in the cage.<p>

"Well Pen-gu-ins…are you ready to surrender?"

Kowalski and Rico stared up defiantly at the villain through the metal bars.

"Never" they answered together.

Blowhole smirked at them and was about to reply when-

"BLOWHOLE!" A bang resounded through the room cavern styled room as a metal door slammed open. Revealing another penguin with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Ah Karen" Blowhole began "What a surp-"

"Zip it bottlenose" Karen cut him off "This!" She pointed at the screen "Was not part of the deal, you could have KILLED THEM!"

"I thought that was the idea?" Blowhole replied innocently

"You know as well as I do that it WASN'T!" She shouted in his face "The plan was to lure them HERE! Not kill them you IDIOT!" She brought her flipper up to his face and slapped it across his nose.

Rico and Kowalski glanced at each other confused.

Blowhole wrinkled his nose in pain and glared down at his partner "You shouldn't have done that…"

"And why not fish breath?" Karen replied placing her flippers on where her hips would be.

Blowhole smirked down at her "I may go back on our 'deal' and accidently kill the little one-"

"You wouldn't dare!" Karen scream, fear clearly visible in her voice and eyes. Her eyes widened when she realised what she just said.

"I knew it" Blowhole spoke, low and threateningly. "You were never going to kill them were you?"

Now it was Karen's turn to speak low and threateningly "I will, but I'LL be the one to dispose of that mistake of a son" She turned on her heel and stomped towards the door.

"Oh and Karen" Blowhole shouted as the penguin stopped in the doorway "If you do try to double-cross me, know that the punishment won't be pleasant…I don't show mercy… You should know that by now"

Karen unconsciously brought her left flipper up to stroke her right, unknowingly making Blowhole's face light up with sick glee. She ruffled the feathers slightly and felt the cold metal of the bionic wing. Cold and unforgiving, just like the dolphin that gave it to her.

"Yes Blowhole…I know" With that, Karen slammed the door behind her.

Kowalski and Rico turned to each other. Both faces ones of horror.

If Blowhole would do that to a comrade…

….what would he do to an enemy?

* * *

><p><strong>Short, I know. But the next one will be longer.<strong>

**Please Review so I know people are still reading this**


	17. Promise kept

**Galaxina-the-Seedrian- Kay, I didn't mean for you too feel bad for her. I just wanted to show how cold and unforgiving my version of Blowhole is by showing what he does to his own partner. I can't help but want him to be more...well, evil!**

**hipturtle15- Who knows? Not me! Here's the update. Read and find out.**

**sweety kneul- NO! Please don't explode. I seriously love your reviews. They always make me soooo happy ^_^ thank you, your reviews are AWESOME!**

**madagascarmaster- Who's bright idea was it to give Pri ninja throwing stars in the first place?**

**TheSkySpiritsTalentShow- Yes Skippy, you reviewed so that means you're reading it :P P.S. Stop fighting with your clone!  
><strong>

**|Note to all readers|**  
><strong>I've decided to start naming the chapters, if anyone has any names for any chapter I'll put it in unless someone has already chosen that chapter. I'll give thanks in the next chapter. You can just say like: <strong>

**Chapter 1 - Recon**  
><strong>The one's I've done now are just examples, they're not definites. Thanks<strong>  
><strong>Oh and Enjoy<strong>  
><em><strong>~Donakiko<strong>_

* * *

><p>Skipper settled down in the luggage carriage of the train, seating himself on a red suitcase. The carriage seemed completely empty of furnishings apart from the many suitcases piled to the ceiling and the few random stray ones that seemed to have fallen.<p>

"Skippah?" Private asked, settling himself down on a moss green case "What are we gonna do when we get to Blowhole's lair?"

Skipper sighed, closing his eyes. He knew what Private was really asking "Don't worry Private. I have a plan, Karen won't touch you" He patted his son on the back before turning his back to him and lying down on the suitcase.

Private was visibly relieved by that as his shoulders dropped like he had just had a huge weight lifted off his conscience. First Karen killed Manfredie and Johnson, tried to kill Skipper, saved him, told him she was his mom, blew up their HQ and now she has two members of his family. Private just couldn't tell what she was going to do next. It was like one moment she loves him and the next she wants him dead.

_At least the badgers are helping us_, Private thought, looking over at Shauna who was lying asleep on a large pink drawstring bag while Chase was readjusting the red fabric on the handle of his army knife. He caught Private's eye and immediately his grey eyes changed to a mourning expression. Like a calm sea mourning the loss of its waves.

"Ya need something?" He asked, immediately putting up a defensive barrier as his eyes turned hard and cold.

Private blinked at the sudden suspicion Chase was glaring at him with. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Chase scoffed wrapping the blood red fabric around the handle again "You're da one lookin at me kid" Not once did he lift his eyes from the gleaming silver blade.

"It's special to you isn't it?" Private asked, nodding to the blade.

Chase went silent for a few moments making Private realise it was a touchy subject.

"More than ya can imagine" He finally answered. "It belonged to my dad. He was a general in the war a few years back"

"What happened?" Private knew he was pushing him, but if they were going to work together then they needed to understand each other. Failing to do so could mean failure in the mission.

"He…he was murdered" Chase choked out. "By a-"

A light moaning sound caught their attention as Shauna rolled over in her sleep, muttering something about hot dogs and a dancing cucumber planet.

Chase sighed with a smile on his face as he got up from his seat on the black backpack and untied the orange running jacket from her waist before grabbing it by the sleeves and flapping it in the air. Bringing the sleeves over her shoulders and letting the rest fall down over her knees.

Private let a small smile form at the sight. While Chase may act like he doesn't care about anything, it's clear that he cares greatly about Shauna.

Chase sighed again. But this one was different. Rather than the light happy one earlier, this one was filled with sorrow as though he was straining under a huge burden.

"Why are ya doin this kid?" Chase asked with his eyes still on Shauna. "You'll get yerself killed, you an your dad. Ya don't know what you're getting yourself into" He let the sleeves go and sat back down on the backpack.

"I know we're saving our team mates"

"Ya think Karen cares about that!" Chase shouted, gripping the rim of the pack so tight creases were visible in the dim lighting. "You're what she wants an they're da bait!"

"How do you know?" Private asked, his suspicion rising.

Chase instantly stiffened. His mind wrestling about something.

Finally, it looked like the internal battle had been won, or lost. "Cause we went through da same thing" He placed his elbows on his knees and dropped his forehead on his knuckles. "When Karen an Blowhole want somethin, they get it. But they don't get their hands dirty. They take time watchin ya, seeing how to get _you_ to come to _them_. Whether over active paranoia" He glanced at Skipper "Or someone they know you'll come after, someone ya'd give yer life for if it meant they'd be safe" He voice choked on the last words.

"Your mum" Private guessed. Looking down at the metal floor as Chase nodded.

"Her and Shauna are the only things I have left. I've gone through losin a father twice"

"Twice?"

"Our real dad died just a few months after Shauna was born. Snake attack. Then our mom met this nice guy, I was four" Her chuckled slightly "I always was slow, grew up thinkin he was my real dad, he wasn't even a badger. We only knew him for a few years before he was shot dead" Even in the near-nonexistent light, Private could see tear brimming around the edges of Chase's grey eyes. "The last thing I promised him was that I'll look after them. Our girls"

Chase looked up and caught Private's eye in a deep lock "That's the only reason I'm even acquainted with those two knut-heads. I'm keepin a promise"

Private opened his mouth to reply, the next thing he knew was the impact of his head on metal as the train crashed.

Bright light covering all his senses, even Shauna's screams.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh yea, it feels good to be back!<strong>  
><strong>And as always, REVIEW PLEASE!<strong>

**~/\~**


	18. Maps

**Galaxina-the-Seedrian- I'm aiming for that now! Hope we can get to it before the story ends!**

**hipturtle15- I actually hadn't planned to make the train crash. It was originally going to be a knock-out-gas bomb hidden in one of the luggage bags, but then I had an idea to make the story longer, so I had to change it :)**

**sweety kneul - I really do love these reviews! Well, please don't explode but I hope you'll like this chapter ^_^ P.S. yes, I do (think) I understand what you mean**

**Tenma Matsukaze - Thanks, and it's alright. Whatever the 'matters' were I hope you're okay now and that they're settled :)**

**TheSkySpiritsTalentShow - Well at least you're not fighting NOW, although it took me being dragged into an FBI base and almost dissected to get you to stop.  
>Skipper: Why did you have to update this thing?<br>Me: Because if I don't, there will be an angry mob coming after YOU!  
>Skipper: ...continue<strong>

**SipperPrivate - Yay! New reviewer and thanks ;)**

**madagascarmaster - Okay, first you give Pri ninja stars and now she's on overload with easter candy! i think we need to look her in a straight-jacket for a while...**

**~Donakiko**

* * *

><p>Skipper woke up with a pounding head ache and a dull pain in his flipper. Grass covered his vision appearing blue in the moonlight. I took a moment for him to notice that he was lying on his stomach and slightly longer to notice that his shadow was shifting constantly.<p>

He felt the heat on his back as he used his flipper to push himself up, the pain in his right flipper growing, and turned himself onto his side and gazed over at the tracks where the train was a blaze. Flames roaring at the carriages that had piled together in a long wall of fire.

"Private, Chase, Shauna?" Skipper called.

He was met with a tired groan from his right, he turned and saw Private shaking his head and pushing himself up from the grass.

"Dad? What happened?"

"I don't know" Skipper rose unsteadily to his feet. "Where are those badgers?"

They both turned at the sound of a smash to see one of the luggage carriage windows cracked. A second later, a figure crashed through the cracked window, sending glass shards flying a smoke billowed out of the now open window. The figure crashed onto the grass, rolling towards them for a few feet before stopping as another figure fell limp off its back.

"SHAUNA! CHASE!" Private yelled as he and Skipper began sliding towards them.

"You alright?" Skipper asked, placing his flipper on Chase's back.

"Yea" Was the gruff answer as Chase pushed himself off the ground, his arms shaking with the effort. "Shauna?"

"I'm okay" A soft reply came. Private helped Shauna sit up as she held her head, blood running down her face and mixing with her light brown fur. "Just my head"

"Can I see?" Private gently removed Shauna's paw from her head, revealing a large bump, blood pouring from a gash in the middle of it.

"I'll be fine" She told him, noticing his concerned face "I've had worse"

Chase gave a slight laugh as he shifted onto his back "Yea, but usually those are from when you fell out'a trees"

Shauna stuck her tongue out at him childishly, but in good humour.

"Well, now that we know we're alive-"

"Question?" Private raised his flipper. "How are we alive, we were knocked out on the train and you were asleep before that"

Skipper opened his mouth to answer, but shortly closed it again. Even he didn't know how they were out of the train. But he was still the leader, he couldn't appear clueless "That doesn't matter right now, what matters is that we are and we're all here"

"But where is 'here'?" Private asked again, lowering his flipper.

Shauna slung off her shoulder bag which for some reason was untouched by the fire and pulled out a small origami crane, she began to unfold it, revealing a map.

Chase caught Skipper's confused look "She thinks everythin is easier ta carry in origami"

"Which it is" She replied with a smug smile, setting down the map on the grass, the light from the train fire making it clearly visible.

"So can you find where we are?" Skipper asked her, looking down at the map which had a trail of pink dots going from Central park to a large area of green.

"Yep" She answered, popping the 'p' "Looks like we're in some place called Prospect park…we can't go around it, we'll be spotted to easily and caught by god knows who"

"So we need ta go through it" Chase told them, sitting cross-legged across the map from his sister.

"Yea, but this map isn't detailed and this place if HUGE…we'll need to find a map of this park in better detail, hopefully one that outlines any trails. If we stay in the trees and follow the trail through the park, we'll be at Coney Island soon"

"And where do we get a map?" Private asked, looking over Shauna's shoulder.

"There's one place marked here" She pointed her finger at a picture of a pine tree, under it, labelled…

Skipper read aloud "Prospect park zoo"

* * *

><p><strong>I know, it's not long. It was meant to be longer but I really couldn't wait to update!<strong>

**Anyway, I've been doing a TON of research for this story and I had to make a new folder on my laptop to keep it all in. The location they crashed, the character profiles E.T.C..**

**Hope you like, I had an idea to extend the story slightly. I seriously don't want it to end X'(**

**Thanks to Galaxina-The-Seedrian I'm now aiming for 100 reviews before it's over. Please review to help!**


	19. Hope and Plotting

**hipturtle15-** Yep, and this is another one XD. Um...whoops, I guess Im just giving you more reason to worry about them at the end...sorry!

**madagascarmaster-** Sorry Pri! I had to...by the way *Shows video of Pri sneaking into candy fault ans taking candy* That's sort of proof that you weren't framed...

**sweety kneul-** I'm thinking I should probably try to get rid of that cookie, It's like it's out to get me! Anyway, thanks for the review and hope you like this chapter!

**TheSkySpiritsTalentShow-** Really Skipper? The only way you'd get 200 reviews on the first chapter of your first story is if you promised everyone who reviewed a billion dollars! And no, that wouldn't work either because A) You don't even have 1 billion dollars to give to one reviewer and B) No one would do it for you. You try to kill your own authoress!

**Lovekit and Silverkit-** Sorry, but it's a known fact that when the author/authoress leaves it at a cliffhanger then it gets the readers excited for the next chapter. And I want the people who read this to enjoy it. Thanks for the review!

**Galaxina-the-Seedrian- **We're only one review away!

**SipperPrivate-** Then it's a win-win situation! :D Thanks! and you're welcome!

**Cheycartoongirl8-** oh Blowey...Well, if you like you being evil then you should like this version of you in the story. I tried to make it more evil than the you in the cartoon...and yea, they kinda will- AH! no spoilers! P.S. Love your story! XD

**BlueNinjahCat97-** And I'm going on! thanks, hope you like this update

_**!NOTE TO ALL READERS!**_

**We're only one review away from 100! And the person who gives the hundredth review will get a special shout-out in the next chapter...yea, sorry I can't think of a better prize...how about some cyber ice-cream or cookies?**

**Also, read bottom for a notice on the 20th chapter. THANKS!**

**~Donakiko**

* * *

><p>Skipper slid down the steps of the zoo, jumping over a rail and pushing his back against one of the trees. He turned to the top of his steps and motioned with his flipper for Private, Shauna and Chase to follow.<p>

Private glanceD around at the empty zoo before sliding down the hand rail towards Skipper. Following the leader's example and landing beside him.

"All clear Private?"

"Yes Skipper, no one in sight, sound, smell or in gut feeling range"

"Good, the sooner we find a map, the sooner we're out of here and we can get to that bottlenose and the she-demon"

"And rescue Kowalski and Rico?" Private reminded.

"That's why we're going there in the first place soldier" Skipper said, patting Privates back. "You and Chase take the north area near the entrance and as far as the barn area. Shauna and I will take it from the Aviary and around the other habitats"

"Aye-Aye Skippah" Private saluted the commander before waving Chase over with his flipper.

Chase and Shauna turned to each other before shrugging and jumping down the steps and under the rail.

Skipper sighed "If you wanna go the boring way-"

"No, you mean the easier way which guarantees we don't break our necks before we even get to Coney Island" Shauna countered, crossing her arms with a smile on her face.

Skipper stared at her with low 'brows', unimpressed "Right, anyway. Chase, you'll go with Private. He'll brief you on where to search while Shauna and I check the other habitats"

"A'right" Chase nodded, running after Private as he began sliding away.

Shauna watched her brother go and gulped slightly. "He'll be alright won't he?"

Skipper nodded to her "They'll be fine" Then he caught the worried look on her face as she gripped the strap of her shoulder bag even tighter. "Are you alright?"

Shauna took a deep breath and nodded, looking around at the surroundings. Across the flag stoned courtyard was a huge brick gate that slightly resembled their own zoo tower clock, but without the bell on top. In the centre of the courtyard was a large circular, fenced off pool that took up most of the yard, In the middle of the pool was a large rectangle concrete slab. A huge irregular pile of rocks down at the end.

Skipper looked over at the two paths that lead to two different areas of the zoo and remembered the 'You Are Here' map they saw when they had first come in.

"Skipper?" Shauna's light voice brought Skipper from his mental map of the zoo and back to reality "Promise me you'll look after Chase?"

Skipper was taken slightly off-guard by the question, Chase seemed like the more protective one out of the two of them. Now Shauna was asking him to keep an out for her big brother.

Shauna caught the look of confusion on his face "It's just…After our dad died…Chase has been different, he's been rushing into things without thinking and…getting hurt…that's how he…he…"

"Got that scar?" Skipper finished uncertainly, tracing a flipper over the side of his face.

Shauna nodded, biting down on her lip. "It's like he thinks fighting without thinking will make him a hero. That scar is from a fight he got into a while back, when he tried to take on Karen-"

"Woah, hold up. Karen gave him that scar?" Skipper asked in shock. The scar that covered half Chase's face and that looked dangerously deep…was caused by Karen?

Shauna nodded again "He…He tried to fight her to get our mom back, you can probably tell what happened. She used his knife against him" Shauna took another deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut. "He was cut so deep, he had to keep the bandages on for a month. When he saw the scar, he was filled with more anger. I couldn't believe my brother had turned into-"

Shauna gasped and wiped the falling tears from her eyes as Skipper simply shook his head in disbelief.

Chase had actually stood up against Karen at a time. Fighting her for their mother's sake…

"Shauna" Skipper turned and placed his flippers on both of Shauna's shoulders, looking her straight in her grey eyes. "I swear on my duty that I'll get you and Chase out of this alive, I won't let you get hurt on my watch" He assured her.

Shauna looked into Skipper's eyes and saw nothing but hard determination, the reassurance that he swore to her filled her with a light feeling that she hadn't felt in a long time.

Hope.

* * *

><p>Karen looked up into the computer screen, continually turning the knob on the keyboard to re-play the video recording of the penguins and badgers escaping the train crash.<p>

Blowhole thought she was working for him.

In reality, he was working for her…he just hadn't realised it yet.

Soon her plan would be revealed. Soon, she would-

"Brilliant isn't it?" A voice interrupted her planning.

Karen swung around so fast a strand of her blonde hair went into her eye, she quickly blinked and pulled it away. "What is Blowhole?"

"The explosion of course!" Blowhole rode over on his segway, staring in triumph at the screen of Skipper waking up after the train wreck. "But how are they still alive?"

"I've been going over the footage and…" Karen pressed more buttons on the screen, showing the train wreck then the screen suddenly turned static for a moment before showing Skipper waking up and looking around. Karen paused it, scowling. "It seems someone cut that piece of the camera recording out. I can't get a lock on anything, no recording, no audio…anything. It's like they just…appeared there"

"No" Blowhole disagreed "They must have been take from the crash, they were all unconscious at the beginning" Blowhole wrapped a fin around the dial and re-winded the video back to the part right after the static. "See, right there…wait…THERE!" Blowhole pointed to the screen, in the very corner was a flipper…a penguin flipper. "Go check on the prisoners, make sure they haven't escaped"

Karen nodded and, sliding from the room, glanced over her shoulder the so called 'Evil Genius' who was 'pacing' the room on his segway, a fin on his snout in a thoughtful expression.

_Just you wait bottlenose_, She thought as she slid down the halls of the lair. A smile lit up her face as she thought of the two penguins in the dungeons.

_Now for some fun_

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, In response to the thing at the top. I planned a special event in the next chapter to celebrate the 20th chapter! WOOHOO!<strong>

**Review please!**

**Because in the next chapter, Karens plan is revealed!**

**~Donakiko**


	20. Broken

**SHOUT OUT TO Sky Fireheart FOR BEING THE HUNDREDTH REVIEWER! WE FINALLY MADE IT! Here's some cyber ice-cream *Sends ice-cream***

**Sky Fireheart-**Yep, she definetly is, thanks for the review and the favourite. oh and you're excused. Congrats by the way! You're my 100th reviewer!

**hipturtle15-** Okay, woah. Lots of people have been cursing her 0_0 lol Time for the plan to be revealed!

**Galaxina-the-Seedrian-** YEA! We finally made it! And here's the celebratory chapter!

**sweety kneul-**YAY! No more cookie! And I updated even sooner! So no cookie = sooner updates

**SipperPrivate-**Well if everyone were the hundredth reviewer then it wouldn't really be special now would it. Time for the plan to be revealed!

**madagascarmaster- **Yea, that is kinda confusing...MM, please stop breaking the fourth wall. :)...do I even want to know what black matter is?

**TheSkySpiritsTalentShow-**Yes Sk, be very afraid! But don't stink up AT's bed again because of nightmares.

Here's the 20th chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Karen stopped outside the titanium bolted door which led to the prisoners. Glancing around, she saw she was alone. The red painted walls seeming ablaze with the fire torches, their light moving across the corridor. The fire's making her shadow twice as long on the deep mahogany wooden floor.<p>

She pressed in the code on the security panel beside the door, pressing her flipper on the scanner. A green light shone over it before a female robotic voice said…

"Access granted, Welcome Karen"

Karen rolled her eyes, Blowhole sure loved his little toys. The door gave a slight jolt before rising up into a slot, leaving an empty doorway with a long spiralling staircase leading down into darkness.

"Well, he's certainly going big to impress" Karen mumbled aloud to herself, the low words echoing down the stairway and into the abyss below. She pressed a button to her left and torches sprung to life down the huge circular room. Revealing many flights of stairs.

With a sigh, Karen began her descent.

~/\~

Skipper slid past the Aviary, finishing the path around the zoo's habitats. So far none of them had been very helpful. In fact, not helpful at all.

"Skipper, wait up!" Shauna shouted, running up to him.

"What is it Shauna?" Skipper asked her, stopping and standing up to face her.

"I...I think…I found...Someone who…who can help" She panted out, placing a hand on her chest and leaning down, her hand on her knee to support her.

"Really?" Skipper asked surprised, they'd passed all the habitats and none of the habitants had any clue where to find a map of the park.

"Y-Yea….woo" Shauna leaned back, placing her hands on her lower back and stretching. "Anyway, I was walking past those crates near the red panda habitat and the top came off. Come and see!" Shauna took off back the way they came as Skipper shook his head at her excitement before following.

~/\~

Karen took a deep breath as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

_If that dolphin's so brilliant, why the fish can't he make an elevator._

Karen turned down a poorly lit corridor. The entire underground dungeon completely paved in cement. Cement walls, floors, torch holders etc. The corridor stretched on and on.

_Okay, come on Karen you can do this_. She shot a nervous look over her shoulder, making sure no one was following her. _Blowhole has no idea, If I can get to the last door before the lobster comes to check on them…_

She continued plotting the plan in her head until she reached another bolted door. Casting another glance around, Karen pressed her flipper to the scanner as the same light shone on it, making the door swing open.

She walked into a brightly lit large square room. Cells lined the sides of the room as a light bulb hung loosely and uncovered in the middle of the room. The fiery torches making the grey concrete appear slightly orange, reflecting off the steel bars.

Karen pulled her hair out of her face and walked down to the last two facing cells, one penguin in each.

_Alright, here I go._

~/\~

"Shauna! Slow down!" Skipper shouted ahead of him at the over excited badger. Even though he was sliding he was having difficulty keeping up with her.

Shauna stopped suddenly and re-adjusted the strap of the bag over her shoulder. "Yea?"

"Slow down, if we use all our strength getting there then we won't have any left to interrogate" Skipper said, sliding up to her.

Shauna rolled her eyes and cast an excited look ahead of them "Okay, we'll walk then"

Skipper nodded thankfully and began to walk on until Shauna pulled him back "What?"

Shauna narrowed her eyes, her perfect vision searching out for any sign of an attack. Her internal radar was bleeping like crazy, her instincts on high alert.

"Something's not right?" She said simply, staring around at their surroundings.

Skipper's gut immediately caught onto her radar "What do you mean?" He asked, raising his flippers in a defensive stance and stepping back until they were back to back.

"I don't know, something's just off" Shauna slipped her hand over her shoulder and into her bag, pulling out her favourite weapon, nun-chucks. She gripped them in both hands, preparing to use them if necessary.

Skipper narrowed his icy blue eyes at the area, nothing seemed out of the ordinary…but his gut was disagreeing with him.

"AHHHH!" A scream…one he knew very well.

"PRIVATE!"

~/\~

Karen held her head high, her flippers casually swinging by her side, giving her the appearance of someone who demanded respect, and for good reason. She was lean and dangerous, ready to jump into action at a moment's notice, her eyes cold and hard after years of witnessing death, war and violence. She had seen things some penguins could only imagine, done things that no one could possibly imagine.

And her plan was something that no one would expect.

Especially Blowhole.

The sound of her feet padding against the concrete echoed through the room. She didn't have to bother with stealth this time, she could finally put her plan into action.

Stopping for a moment, Karen grabbed the keys off the wall…

Along with a leather whip.

~/\~

The wind stung Skipper's eyes as he sprang forward, sliding at breakneck speed back down the path. Shauna shouting after him.

The air drowned out any other noise besides his own deafening heartbeat as he surged forward across the flagstones to the entrance yard.

If anyone thought they could hurt his boy they were **dead** wrong!

He jumped to his feet when he reached the courtyard, looking around in panic for the source of the shout. Then another erupted across the zoo.

"CHASE!"

Skipper's heart froze as his brain realised the situation. Private wasn't in trouble….he was shouting for Chase.

With renewed determination, he sprang onto his stomach, straight towards the barn.

~/\~

Kowalski tried breathing through his mouth to stop the smell of the old mouldy hay on the concrete floor of the cell making him gag. As far as he knew, Rico had given up on trying to regurgitate something to blow the bars away an hour ago when they quickly realised he was empty.

He sighed heavily, beginning to lose hope.

If they couldn't get out of here themselves, then that leaves Private and Skipper to come and rescue them.

Kowalski groaned, letting the back of his head rest on the cool wall. He hated feeling helpless. Now Private and Skipper were putting their lives on the line to rescue them.

Then the padding of feet reached his ears and his senses instantly went on high alert, noticing that the padding was followed by a dragging noise.

He looked up and out of the bars, his blue eyes meeting Karen's cold stare.

The bloodied whip in her flipper.

~/\~

"Private!" Skipper shouted around the barn. Not taking time to admire the scenery and only noticing a fenced off area with a stable, all the animals cowering inside it. "Private!"

"Sk-Skippah!"

Skipper ran towards the sound, around the back of the stable. "Private, Chase, Are you-"

Skipper stopped dead in his tracks at the sight in front of him.

Leaning against the back of the stable, Private sat crying…

Cradling Chase's head in his lap…

A bullet wound in his chest.

~/\~

Karen looked down at the shocked face of the Lieutenant. His eyes locked onto the whip in her flipper.

_Honestly_, she sighed.

Kowalski stared at her, not trusting himself to blink encase he missed her bring the whip up.

Suddenly Karen turned on the ball of her foot, bring the whip up and smashing it into a camera he hadn't even notice. The camera smashed to pieces on impact with the steel tips on the lashes.

Then she did something extremely unexpected.

She unhooked the keys from the handle of the whip and opened the barred door on the cell, holding her hand out to Kowalski.

"Do you want out of here or not?"

* * *

><p><strong>Phew! Okay, I was on a full scale writing marathon all day to get this finished!<strong>

**What do you think?**

**Her plan has been slightly revealed, it will be fully uncovered in the next chapter.**

**Review please!**

**~Donakiko**


	21. Secret shared

**StoriesAreMagic**- Yea, I guess I am. Thanks for the review, but you'll have to read on to find out.

**Cheycartoongirl8**- or Cartoongirl and so did I, but I changed it last minute for a surprise. Ah but Blowhole, how do you know she isn't really leading them into a trap so you can destroy them yourself or use them as bait? That's the thing, you don't :D

**Galaxina-the-Seedrian**- Hey, even I don't know...but then again, she did blow up the HQ, try to kill Skipper, almost smash Private as an egg, Kill Manfredie and Johnson- I'll stop there. In this case, you have a right to be paranoid.

**hipturtle15**- We'll have to read and see, I don't even know what she's doing! And I'm the Authoress! I don't know, we'll have to get Skipper to investigate!

**sweety kneul**- And here's a third one! yea, poor Chase...Why'd he have to die! I liked him!

**Sky Fireheart-** I did try to make it unexpected and surprising... I know, poor chase :'(

**Tenma Matsukaze-** Hmmm...I don't remember writing that? ;)

**TheSkySpiritsTalentShow**- Actually Skipper, AT did. If you don't believe me you can go back and read your review of chapter 13. There's your proof. HA!

**madagascarmaster**- Ahwell you better get used to it Pri. Yea, Being an official own charecter must suck bad. well, it's not like you can do anything about it X)

* * *

><p>Skipper leaned down on the ground over Chase, pressing his flippers down over the bullet wound in an effort to slow the bleeding.<p>

This was not good. He had seen wound's like this is in the war...none of the inflicted survived more than a few minutes after.

"N-no good...Skip" Chase gasped out. A small river if blood flowing out from the side of his mouth.

Private took deep breaths, trying to stop the tears from falling. "Sk-Skippah?"

Skipper looked up to meet Private's eyes, the look on Skipper's face was enough to tell Private the truth.

The wound was fatal.

Chase chuckled weakly at their faces "T-toldja"

Skipper shook his head, refusing to believe this was happening. He took a long look at Chase's face, the scar standing out. Almost taunting him, Chase had survived that wound... Only to die at this.

"Sk-Skipper?" Chase chucked out, his breathing growing more laboured with each word.

"Yea Chase?"

"W-where's Sha-Shauna?"

Skipper turned and looked over his shoulder, seeing the young badger staring at them, shaking her head in disbelief.

Chase smiled slightly "H-hey Shauna"

The dam broke, tears raging out of Shauna's grey eyes as she slowly walked over to the small group.

"C-can you guys g-give us a sec?" Chase asked, looking up at Private.

Private looked at Skipper who was standing up, silently telling him to do the same.

Private lifted chase's head of his lap before gently setting it down on the dirt covered ground and following his father around to the front of the stable.

Skipper sat on one of the up turned buckets of animal feed, the same thought running through his head.

_I promised her_

~/\~

Kowalski stared at the outstretched flipper, expecting it to slap him in the face before Karen began her savage whipping. Her flipper shot out, Kowalski closed his eyes and cringed, waiting for the impact of the flipper against his flesh.

Instead, Karen grabbed Kowalski by the top of his flipper, pulling him up from the ground.

He wobbled unsteadily on his feet for a moment, eyes still shut.

Kowalski waited for the impact of the lashing of the whip. But all he was met with, was the padding of Karen's feet as she walked out of his cell and over to the one facing him, he opened his eyes to see Karen as she lifted the keys to the lock and opened the cell door, pushing it open.

She turned back to Kowalski.

"Are you gonna stand there with your beak flapping or help me get your pal up?"

Kowalski shook his head in extreme disbelief at what was happening, also realising that his beak had been hanging open.

Karen rolled her eyes at the penguin.

_Seriously, this is supposed to be the smart one?_

"Look, do you want to get out of here or not, cause if you just keep standing there like an idiot a lobster will realise the camera's down and alert Blowhole, then they'll be on us like bees to honey"

"Why are you helping us?"

Karen grew annoyed by this penguins lack of priority.

"I'll answer that later-"

"Why not now?" Kowalski cut her off.

"Because if we don't get out of here soon we won't live till later!" She shouted at him. Kowalski cringed slightly at the desperate tone in her voice.

Karen took a deep breath to regain her composure "You're not my objective"

"Objective?"

"Forget it, now help me get scarboy out"

Kowalski glared at her, rolling his flippers into fists "His name is Rico!"

"Fine, help me get Rico out" Karen ran into the cell and placed her flippers on either side of Rico's head.

He lay on his back on the hay off the cell, unmoving.

Kowalski looked between the two, noticing Rico's flipper twitch…

Three twitches!

"Rico now!"

Suddenly Rico's eyes snapped open. He kicked Karen up against the wall before jumping to his feet and wrapping his flippers around her neck.

Karen gasped. Shocked by the sudden change of events "H-how…"

Kowalski stepped forward into the cell. "Rico's classic technique. When playing unconscious, his flipper will twitch three times to ask if it's safe to attack" Kowalski smirked slightly as Karen glared at them. "Now tell us EXACTLY why you let us go"

~/\~

"Private?" Skipper looked down at the face of his son. Privates blue eyes rimmed with red from crying. This wasn't the best time to ask it…but he had to know "What happened?"

Private gulped heavily "Ch-Chase…we were walking around, asking some of the animals if they knew where we could find a map…then there was a gunshot and all the animals scattered…Chase and I were fine the first time, then a second one rung out…It was aiming at me"

"How do you know that?" Skipper asked, shaking his head in shock.

"B-because Chase shouted, then he grabbed me and started pulling me away. We only reached the back when he pushed me behind him and…and…"

Skipper nodded. He didn't need to hear anymore.

Then something hit him.

"Blowhole"

"What?" Private rubbed his eyes, looking up at the leader sitting on the upturned feed bucket.

"It must have been a minion of Blowhole. He must have heard about Chase and Shauna helping us."

"Then why would he aim for me?" Private asked, fresh tears brimming "If I'd been hit the Chase wouldn't-"

"Don't think like that!" Skipper shouted, was his son really thinking this was his fault?

"But it's true!" Private argued.

"No it's not!" Skipper jumped down from the bucket and sat down beside the young soldier, wrapping a flipper around his neck. "Now listen to me. This is not your fault. Things like this happen, it's one of the reasons I didn't want to tell you who I was. I was afraid you'd be dragged into this" He admitted honestly, without realising that he was telling Private his deepest secrets. His only focus on getting Private's mind off what was happening.

"I didn't want you to be brought up in war. With all the killing, losing loved ones, family, friends, even strangers…I wanted to keep you away from all that…I didn't want you to go through what I did. My mother died when I was a hatchling, she was in the war. Then my father disappeared a year later" Skipper bit back the tears, not ready to lose his composure. "I was raised by the penguin general who was a close friend of my mother. He taught me to fight, how to look after myself. He even got me a special place in the academy, that's where I met Manfredie and Johnson. We were the rejects, the ones no one thought would make it to the battlefield"

"But you did" Private added, remembering Skipper's talk with Marlene "You beat Blowhole and ended the war"

"We thought we did, but yes. We became the top unit" Skipper smiled fondly. Then the smile suddenly slipped off his face as Shauna came back.

She stared at them with unfamiliar grey eyes, the previous hopeful shine replaced by a hard glare of mourning.

"He's gone"

* * *

><p><strong>ATTENTION ALL READERS!<strong>

**I put up a poll on my profile, I was thinking about making a sequal to this when it's over but I want to know if anyone will actually read it if I do so please vote on the poll.**

**And, great news! Next Chapter will have Karen's version of Skipper's flashback! :D**

**Hope you're as excited as I am, cause there'll also be a surprise!**

**Hope you'll like it, Review please!**

_**~Donakiko**_


	22. Unexpected turns

**SkipperPrivate **- Don't worry, I'll keep this up for a while, I'm already planning a sequal! Enjoy!

**hipturtle15 **- Yep, I'll write the conversation they had, but it won't be for a while yet. lol hopefully it won't be THAT sad, though pretty close. Enjoy!

**madagascarmaster **- Woah, go Elyon, you got Pri to be quiet! bTW, love the pic of you and your boyfriend on DA ;)

**sweety kneul **- I know! I really liked Chase too! But, I have a little surprise in store ;) hope ya'll like it!

**Tenma Matsukaze** - I know, and the death was to protect him, that just makes it worse...poor Private, hopefully he'll be back to his cheery self soon!

**TheSkySpiritsTalentShow **- Suuuuuuuure Skipper, and next I'll be calling you tall and handsome! incase you couldn't tell Drama queen, that was sarcasm!

**Skipper917 **- Here's the update! And I'm really happy you think my story's that good!

**NOTE TO ALL READERS!**

**Okay, I know I haven't updated in a month *Shame* But I have my reasons. **

**1) I have my maths key stage 3 exam tomorrow and if I don't pass that to get into tier D maths then I can't do double award science meaning I won't get to do advanced science at GCSE or A-level and I won't go on to do Astro and Geo-physics at university meaning I won't get my dream job in Astronomy and my life will officially be ruined!**

**so yea, that and I've started a PoM Truth or Dare called the PTD-Athon. I've posted the second chapter!**

**So with that, on with the show! (Forgive me if it's short but I had to get this up and written between revision)**

* * *

><p>Shauna walked past the zoo's gift shop in silence, she didn't need to check if Skipper and Private were still following her, she could hear the splashes of their feet in the puddles behind her.<p>

It had started raining when they had buried Chase a little under an hour ago. It was nothing fancy, he was buried in the forested area behind the barn, secluded and alone.

It wasn't what he deserved.

Chase deserved a grand funeral, where the world could come to mourn at his courage. He sacrificed himself so that Private could live, so that Private could stay with his father and that his father wouldn't lose him…

At least that's what Chase had told her when she asked why he had took the bullet. He had said it…among other things.

Shauna thought back to their final conversation and what Chase had asked her to do.

_He's crazy, he can't honestly think that they'd still want to help if they knew the truth. They wouldn't be going after Karen, they would go straight for Blowhole. They wouldn't help us if they knew our mission. And now he's…he…asking me to-_

Shauna shook the thought clear from her head. She couldn't do it…she just couldn't…looking quickly over her shoulder to the penguins, she saw them walking behind her almost unconsciously, their heads bowed as they looked at their feet, the drizzling rain hitting off their feathers.

Shauna looked back to the sky, searching for something to keep her mind off Chase. The rain fell in a heavy misty blanket against the dark grey clouded sky. The sun completely hidden behind the dark, just like her heart.

This whole trip, Shauna felt like they really had a chance. She always had hope that they could get their mom free and leave, run away and live a new live. Somewhere that even Blowhole couldn't find them.

Fate hated them.

It was the only explanation why the world always seemed to go wrong right when she found a silver lining in the darkest clouds…the cloud would only get darker.

Shauna sighed. She knew what she had to do, that didn't mean she had to like it. Using her training, she raised her head and glanced around quickly at the surroundings while appearing not to have done anything. She quickly turned down the gap between two of the gift shops and proceeded to walk down it.

Private and Skipper followed without a word, the two lost in their own thoughts.

Private shot a quick look at Shauna, her blonde ponytail flowing in the wind. Private knew that Skipper had noticed it too, she'd lost her shine. That carefree feel of happiness you'd get when you're around her was replaced with a hard cold sense of duty that told them 'Do what you must, no matter what it takes'.

Skipper continued to clench and un-clench his flippers. The feeling of anger setting in his stomach. Anger at himself.

_I promised her, promised on my duty that I'd get them out of this!_ Skipper closed his eyes as he faced the truth.

_I failed them_

Neither had noticed that Shauna had led them into a dead end alley way until she stopped suddenly in front of a wall.

"Now where?" Private asked nervously, looking up at the high Walls that surrounded them, leaving only the way back clear.

"I can't do it Chase" Shauna said aloud to herself.

Skipper and Private shared a look, each as confused as the other.

Shauna seemed to forget they were there as she continued.

"I can't lose mom too, not after you...after dad..."

Private reached a flipper forward to touch her shoulder, reassure her. His flipper stopped mid-air as Shauna reached a paw over her shoulder and into her bag.

Then all hell broke loose.

Shauna bent her knees and back flipped over the two shocked penguins. Her paw in her shoulder bag.

As she landed she pulled her hand out of the bag. Turning to face Skipper and Private, she lifted her hand which had previously been in the bag, a handgun pointed right between Skippers eyes.

"I'm sorry Chase, I can't just forget our mission"

* * *

><p>Karen sighed.<p>

"Alright, but first, let me go"

Rico turned to Kowalski, seeing him nod, he released his hold on Karen.

Karen massaged her neck with her flipper "You may want to sit down, it's a long story"

Kowalski signalled to Rico to stay standing until they knew it was safe to lower their guard against her.

Karen looked up at them both "How much has Skipper told you about Private's birth….wait, let me guess 'classified'"

Kowalski cringed at the way she said 'classified' like it were some sort of horrible excuse. "Until you arrived, we hadn't even realised Private was Skipper's son, or that Skipper had once been married"

Rico looked at the faint smile on Karen's face. Like she were thinking back on a happy memory.

Karen crushed the smile down "Yes, well then, I suppose we'd better start at…well, the start"

~/\~

Karen continued to polish Skipper's army medal, though her mind was in a further place than their home in Castros. The egg she'd laid a few hours earlier was now in the crib in the spare room they had made into the chicks room.

She sighed, setting the medal down. And looking into the ice cold water of the sink. Her face looking back at her, those pale blue eyes brimming with tears. She shut her eyes, hearing the tear fall into the water.

Why did Blowhole choose now, why did he choose her?

Surveillance. That was her mission. That was all she had to do to keep her egg safe. She should have stopped him.

Skipper was so proud of his 'achievement' that had earned him this medal, the 'achievement' of getting rid of penguin enemy no.1 Blowhole.

Karen threw the cloth into the sink and fell to the ground, pressing her back against the ice counter. If Skipper hadn't injured Blowhole, if he hadn't taken his eye then Blowhole wouldn't want vengeance on the right now…then Blowhole wouldn't be doing this to her, to them…

To their egg.

She had to go through with the mission, that was the only option. But she'd do it subtly, unnoticeably.

That's the only way they'll all get out of this alive.

Karen lifted her head at the sound of snow padding outside, quickly and expertly, she shot up to her feet and grabbed the cloth out of the sink and began to polish the medal again when she heard the door slide open.

"I thought I told you no cleaning?" She heard her husband joke.

Karen turned to face Skipper, smiling as his face lit up in surprise.

"You..the egg...it's?" Karen smiled as Skipper stumbled over his words and nodded. Realising it could be one of the last happy moments she'll have with him. She inwardly sighed and stepped forward, grabbing Skipper's flipper and pulling him across the room to the doorway with the curtain over the entrance which led to the spare room.

Revealing the cot in the semi-dark room. A tear sliding down Karen's cheek as she thought about the way the egg in the cot would grow up without her, she quickly and quietly brushed it away before Skipper would notice.

She had to keep this going, for just a little longer.


	23. A cold reveal

**Black Kyurem****-**Well we'll have to see if she'll stay that way. Honestly, that penguins as changing as the sea. Don't worry though...I don't think I'll kill them yet...yet

**SkipperPrivate** **-** lol yes, cute and cuddley. But Shauna's filled with alot of bitter hate right now. I mean, she just watched her brother die not one hour after Skipper promised her he get them out. So you can probably imagine she's feeling a little resentful right now.

**Cheycartoongirl8****-**Yes Blowhole, this is all your fault! ...how's it his fault again? Anyway, hope you enjoy this update! It's mostly about Karen though.

**Karenkook****- **You watched the transit of Venus! Lucky! I got up at 4:50am to watch it but it was too cloudy here in Ireland...honestly, it's times like this that it sucks to be Irish. But I got to watch it at 11:25pm on the laptop when they were feeding it through live. Guess that's the closest I'll get.

**hipturtle15****-**No problem, have I nice vacation! Did you enjoy it? Well here's the second chapter.

**madagascarmaster- **Awww, don't worry Elyon. Private turned tomato red when he saw it...It was SOOO Cute! And Pri, just cause MM's not gonna post a pic of you and Skipper doesn't mean I won't ;)

**BlueNinjahCat97****- **I know what you mean. All these character changes are giving me a headache, and I'm the author! Geez. Well, enjoy!

**TheSkySpiritsTalentShow****- **Hmmm...let's see...'leas-pay pdateuay' that means...'Please update!' Whoops..oh, did I just announce that out loud? oh well, sorry Skip. And yea, but things are about to get even stranger...well not really, but I hope they'll get better atleast.

**Godspilla****- **lol no problem, I love torturing Skippy too. In that case, you should check out my PTD-Athon. It's a truth or dare and you leave dares and truths in the reviews to embaress the heck out of the characters ^^ Don't worry, there will be plenty of time to kill fish later

**sweety kneul****-**Thanks! I seriously love your reviews. Whenever I feel sad, I just read one and then I'm ready to get back at the keyboard again! So thank you because YOU are awesome!

**Galaxina-the-Seedrian**-Karen: ...uhhh Me: Not used to physical contact much huh? Karen: Unless it's slapping, no. Me: And thanks!

**gamer girl247-** Woah, calm down, we don't want you taking a heart attack or something. Anyway, here's the update. Sorry it took so long.

**A Beautiful Beast-** Thanks a ton! Your review broke down the wall of writers block I've been battling for a while! Thank you thank you THANK YOU! You are Amazing!

**..::AUTHORS NOTE::..**

Hello every-*Ducks tomatoes, Apples and bicycle pumps* I know I know, I'm pathetic and I haven't updated in over a month. But good news! I'm finished my KS3 exams! Meaning more time now to work on updates! Also we're not really doing anything in school which means I have more time to plan chapters during class so I can get chapters up even faster! So that's good right?

Okay, so far I've got about 9 votes on the poll on my page for a sequal to Like Father,Like Son. And I've got a shocker twist for you all planned. (Waits) Yes, even bigger than Karen actually turning out to be good.

I'd also like to shout out to A Beautiful Beast, gamer girl247 and Godspilla who are our new reviewers! Let's give them a round of applause!

Enough now, on with the show!

_**~Donakiko**_

* * *

><p>Karen looked up at the two shocked penguins.<p>

"I'd already had it planned. I knew Blowhole was planning on using me to kill Skipper, he would make me do it from the inside. I had to find a way to make Skipper hate me, make HIM want to divorce me, If I got the divorce then Blowhole would know something was up, I had to do it the only way I could…"

~/\~

Karen lifted the hammer from Skipper's toolbox, holding it expertly in her flippers.

_Come on Karen. You have to do this, there's no other way…_

That thought had run constantly through her head all night. Now all she had to do was rely on Skipper's natural paranoia.

She turned slightly, looking at the sleeping penguin as a smiled tugged at her beak before disappearing…

"I'm sorry Skipper" She whispered, turning and tip-toeing out of the room, she opened the door and closed it over, making sure it made a loud…

'_Click'_

She heard a rustling sound on the other side of the door. Clearly Skipper waking up. She inwardly sighed in relief as she glanced around the main area…it would be the last time she might ever see it.

The padding of feet on the hard snow floor informed her that Skipper must have realised about her taking the hammer.

_He probably thinks I'm away to fix that dang draft…man that's annoying._

Karen quickly walked over to the baby's room, closing the curtain back over just as she heard Skipper come out of their room. She purposely pushed the curtain a little more to get his attention. She turned her back to the entrance and leaned over the egg in the cot. She reached out and stroked the smooth surface of the eggs shell.

_I'm so sorry…You'll grow up better without me…and if Skipper even thinks of enrolling you in the academy then I'll kick his-_

Karen instantly jerked her flipper back when she heard the curtain be pulled aside, fighting back the tears that were building.

_Come on Karen…you're too close to give up now. It's for the best._

Karen turned the handle of the hammer over in her flipper when she heard a soft sigh come from behind her.

_I'm sorry Skipper_

With that, she lifted the hammer above her head, ensuring Skipper could see it clearly.

She held it for a moment, becoming afraid that Skipper had already left and gone back to bed. Then she was knocked on her side by a force as Skipper wrenched the hammer from her flippers.

~/\~

Karen continued to stare at the ground of the cell. "I never intended to hurt Private…I had to make Skipper hate me…if you really want to get on Skipper's bad side, you threaten his city, family or his friends"

Kowalski and Rico nodded in silence. They already knew this from past experiences with their enemies. Once one of them began to threaten either them or the city, Skipper went into his well known commando mode and didn't come out of it until they were stopped.

"So, you pretended to be after Private so Skipper would hate you…But, how did Blowhole react to that?" Kowalski asked her.

Karen pursed her beak slightly "I was hoping if he found out Skipper and I had divorced…then he would see me as useless and release me-"

"Yu mack soun lik yu slav!" Rico shouted.

Karen looked at Kowalski with one eye ridge raised in confusion.

"Rico said, you're making it sound like you were a slave…" Kowalski trailed off as Karen began laughing.

"Only a little better off" Karen nodded "But I guess you could say that I was…I doubt you would take your colleagues wings to compensate for messing up on a mission or because you suspected them of going against you"

"huh?" Rico asked.

Karen looked down at her wing before parting the feathers to reveal the bionic wing. "It was when we discovered Private and Skipper were alive…I was so relieved that I accidently showed it…Blowhole noticed and figured out I must have let them get away. He tried to crush my emotions by performing the surgery to remove my wing and replace it, no painkillers or knockout gas…"

Rico gulped while Kowalski looked disgusted.

"Th-that's just-"

"Sick?" Karen interrupted, a small smiling never leaving her face as she rubbed the bionic "I suppose so. But…I gained this by protecting my family…that makes it my most proud battle scar. I don't care about what I went through to have it, what matters is what it represents."

Rico looked right into Karen's eyes and for a split second, he saw a spark of defiance ignite deep within her, her body tensing to that of a strong soldier and he could tell what made Skipper fall for her.

Kowalski also noticed it. Having researched body language in order for interrogation, he noticed the signs when someone was telling the truth or lying. Karen seemed so sure that what she did was for the best. Even after all these years, she still believes that by making her family turn against her and hate her, that it was the right thing to do.

She had told them the truth.

Karen smiled a little more, then it quickly vanished.

"Something's wrong" She whispered subconsciously. "Wait here"

Karen got out of the cell and closed the door over, passing the keys over to Kowalski. "When I give the signal, get out!"

"Wha si'nal?"

"Oh trust me, you'll know it when you see it"

Karen turned and began to walk away when the speaker on the side of the wall rang.

"KAREN!" The voice shouted in a tone which she instantly recognised as Blowhole's "What are you doing down there?"

Karen calmly took her time walking over to the speaker, which she was sure would just annoy him more.

Good, she thought, let him wait.

"Yes Blowhole?" She called into the speaker.

"Well, what's taking so long!"

"Sorry, I guess I was having so much fun that I lost track of time" Karen made sure to add a sickening not of glee in her voice that she had perfected over the years.

"Well it's time to stop. We have guests…"

"Guests?" Karen asked, her heart being caught in an icy grip.

"Yes Karen, I'm sure you'd love to see Skipper and Private again…"

Karen's heart stopped for that moment's pause before Blowhole continued.

"It's time for the family reunion."

* * *

><p><strong>Dun Dun DUUNNN! *Ducks drum* Stop that Apollo!<strong>

**Okay, so review and vote on the poll on my page if you'd like a sequal, I'm beginning the planning for one soon if I get enough reviews and votes.**


	24. Plan in action

**SkipperPrivate-** Seriously? Awesome! Yeah, it was pretty loud though. I'll have to tell Apollo to tune it down a bit. That's great, the excitedness is what I try to create! Awesome!

**Madagascarmaster-** NO! *Chains self to mountain* I won't let you throw me in the Styx! ha! oh, and the preview was totally awesome! Can't wait for the update, Enjoy!

**Galaxina-the-Seedrian-** lol I was just thinking that if Karen read that she'd probably say 'Keep your sympathy to yourself cause I don't need it' ...yeah, she can be a bit of a grump at times.

**Cheycartoongirl8-** Sorry Blowy-holey...but I did update. P.S. Why do you want to kill Skipper?

**Hipturtle15-** it's spelt 'Villainous scum' but close enough and I'm glad you enjoyed it! lol sorry, but I love cliffhangers, they give me a starting point to write the next chapter which means I can write them up quicker.

**Dinosaur-Fun-** Really? Woah, well I'm glad you found it again! and I think a lot of people feel the same. thanks for reviewing! :D

**Sweety kneul-** Need I say more? How do you write your reviews so awesomely! Here's the next chapter! lol, I love your reactions!

**A Beautiful Beast- ** (P.S. You posted the same review twice for the last chapter) To your review on ch.1, I've been updating a lot of my stories which I've been neglecting due to this one, plus I've been working on a few new stories I've made. So I've been real busy, it's been hectec. I finished this just a few minutes ago and I've already started on the next chapter. (See Author Announcement for details)

**TheSkySpiritsTalentShow- **Well believe it Skip, cause that's how it happened. Ask your clone if you don't believe it, he was there...well, not THERE there when she explained it but he's...well in the future...the past? okay, in his past which is the future chapters of the story, he was there...did that make sense?

**Black Kyurem-** Hmm, I'll have to write the chapter to see if they all make it out...But I hope this Chapter gives you the Cunning you asked for!

* * *

><p>XxXAUTHORS ANNOUNCEMENTXxX<p>

Okay, so I'm going on holiday on Friday and I've been banned from bringing my laptop because my mum thinks I need to be more 'socialable' and to stop talking to the voices in my head, I know, she's crazy. Anyway, I haven't been able to update in a while because I've been working on updating most of my stories before I go, plus a lot of my new stories. So I'm gonna be gone for two weeks, meaning two weeks of not being able to work on my updates. But I'm bringing my note book to work on my writing and to get ideas. Thanks to MM for the suggestion.

Anyway, that's about it, so enjoy!

~/|\~

Karen set off at a run until she reached the top of the spiralling stairs before she paused to catch her breath…She straightened herself outside the doorway before calmly walking out. Trying to appear calm despite her heart thudding in her chest.

_Okay Karen, stick to the plan…stage one first._

Calmer now that she had a goal, Karen walked through the doorway, keeping the door open so the two could escape when necessary. She turned down the corridor, nodding to the two lobsters she passed and continued down the series of corridors.

_Corridor 4, door on the left. Once that goes the entire hall will be set to fire. They'll need to get past that checkpoint at least a minute before the explosion reaches the labs to give them a chance of escaping. Once they've reaches the second checkpoint the fire will have reached the main room and Blowhole will be trapped. _A sad smile spread on Karen's face, _he won't escape this time. I'll make sure of it._

Karen turned down a corner and into another corridor. High grade steel walls and floor with candle lit chandeliers hanging down from the ceiling. She reached the end of the corridor and stood in front of huge floor-to-ceiling double doors made of an unknown metal that Blowhole had found at the bottom of the ocean, even she didn't know what it was. It was completely black with a bright grey shine whenever light shone on it.

The material could be a problem. For all she knew, it could be heat or explosive resistant…that would put a flaw in her plan, but then again, the fire would only be contained on this side of the door. Meaning Blowhole still couldn't get out.

Karen sighed and forced a sick smile on her face so she would appear to have just come back from torturing one of their prisoners. Clearing her throat, she stepped up to the door, the motion sensors making it swing open.

Karen walked through into the lab. Stalactites hung menacingly from the ceiling as computer screens lined one of the walls and a large pool of water down at the far end of the room. She glanced up at the gaps between the stalactites and mentally cursed herself when she saw the holes.

_Oh fish paste…I'll have to get them out and prevent Blowhole from giving the audio code…this is just perfect,_ She thought sarcastically.

"Ahh Karen, so nice of you to join us" A silky voice purred in such a way that it sent a shiver down Karen's spine.

She turned to see Blowhole at the other end of the room with what she had feared she would see for years.

Skipper and Private with their flippers cuffed behind their backs. Two lobsters infront, two on either side and two behind them…eight lobsters in total. And on top of that, standing behind them with a gun in each hand, pointed at their heads…

"Shauna?" Karen asked in a calm voice she had perfected. "What….where's Chase?"

Shauna bit down on her lip and looked down at the ground for a moment before snapping up to meet Karen's eye. "Dead"

"What…how?"

"You tell me" Shauna snapped, each word dripping in such hateful venom it almost scared Karen. "He was KILLED! I saw her running when we got there…you sent her to kill Private and Chase, being the idiot, saved him!"

Private screwed his eyes shut as grief racked his body, gasps coming from him as he tried to keep the tears down. Skipper, who had been glaring at Karen since she walked into the room, stopped for a moment to whisper something to Private. She couldn't hear it from here but whatever it was, it helped calm Private…though the younger penguin didn't lift his gaze from the floor.

Karen shook her head "I didn't send her out Shauna, you must be mistaken-"

"Really, and what other penguin has a scar that size?" Shauna screamed, lowered her arms to her side.

Karen sighed, now was not the time to talk about her. "I'll speak with her later…until then…" She glanced at Skipper "We have other things to attend to"

"Precisely" Blowhole agreed, he then looked at Karen confused "Wait, if you were whipping that annoyingly smart penguin, why aren't you covered in blood?"

"Kowalski?" Skipper shouted in shock, his face stretched in anger. "If you've touched either of them I'll-"

"You'll do what?" Shauna taunted "You can't do anything"

Karen rolled her eyes at the dolphin "Obviously I cleaned up before I came in here…Unless you want blood all over your floor…well, there's still blood in the cell, but I doubt that matters" She told him, the smile never leaving her face.

Skipper glared at her with so much hate that it made every nerve in Karen's body scream for her to leave. She swallowed hard and ignored it. Fully aware that she was taught to never ignore her instincts, but she had a job to do.

Blowhole's smirk grew at Skipper's expression. "Face the facts pen-gu-in. Karen's whipping techniques are known as the most painful out of all of my minions…you're lieutenant is dead"

Karen's smile grew, but for a different reason than Blowhole thought. The dolphin was buying it.

"You lying son of a Dane!" Skipper shouted. "Kowalski would NEVER be beaten by you or HER. We penguins are stronger than that!"

Blowhole laughed "Keep believing that Skipper. Just keep on believing that. Meanwhile…" Blowhole signalled to Shauna who nodded, putting one of the guns back in her bag and reaching forward, pulling Private away from Skipper.

"No!" Skipper charged forward, but was pulled back by one of the lobster's claws wrapped around the chain of his cuffs. The other lobsters moving in to fill the gap. "Let him go!"

"Skippah" Private shouted, trying to pull away from Shauna.

"Quit it!" Shauna yelled, slapping Private across the face and pulling him over to Karen and Blowhole.

Karen suddenly tensed, her paternal instincts telling her to go over there and defend her chick…but doing so will likely get them both killed. Instead, she took a deep breath and tried to turn her internal radar off.

She nodded to Shauna "I'll take him from here" She clenched her flipper around the chain of Private's cuffs. Karen looked up to Blowhole "Skipper's all yours, I'll go dispose of…this" With a fake grimace, she pulled Private away from them and out the door, Skipper's struggling audible inside as the door closed behind them.

Private was silent as Karen pushed him out in front of her and down the hall way, Karen kept a close eye on the area where his feathers were bent and ruffled on his face where Shauna had slapped him.

_Poor girl…I'll have to get her away somehow during the fighting and tell her where her mother is so they can get out before the bomb goes…_

Private continued walking, hopelessness already taken over. Chase was dead, Kowalski was likely dead and it was all his fault. If he hadn't even been born than Karen would never have tried to kill him, Skipper would never have caught her, they might still be married and Kowalski and Rico would still be alive somewhere else…even if they didn't know each other, at least they would have been safe.

Suddenly, Private was jerked to a stop. He looked over his shoulder and saw Karen looking around them at the empty hall way.

"This way" She whispered, pulling Private into the doorway.

"Where are we going…" Private asked without any emotion in the words.

Karen glanced behind them and pulled him forward and down the stairs. "I'm getting you out of here, but first we need to get your friends"

"What?" Private asked in confusion which was quickly replaced by joy "Kowalski and Rico? They're alright?"

"Shh" Karen hushed, nodding "I told them to stay down here until I gave them the signal to leave…but the plan's changed slightly.

"Plan, you mean…" Private trailed off, not wanting to give into fake hope.

"Yes, I've been planning on helping you the whole time…ever since Blowhole caught on to your location and that you were our son. There was no way I was gonna let him hurt our baby" Karen told him, the words spilling out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"'our baby'" Private repeated…He then had an idea "You love Skippah…you still do"

Karen paused on the steps, looking over to meet Privates blue eyes…his father's eyes…She sighed "You're just like him…I can't hide anything from either of you" She said smiling. "But…it doesn't matter, once you get out of here, he'll go back to hating me…that's the way it has to be"

"No it doesn't…you could come back with us?" Private offered.

Karen shook her head and kept walking. "Sorry sweetie…that's not possible…if everything goes to plan, I won't be going anywhere for a while"

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind" Karen walked the last few steps and walked over to the still open door of the dungeon. As she walked in, she instantly groaned. "I told you two to stay there for a reason you know, if I was a lobster than he'd have raised the alarm already!"

Kowalski and Rico turned to face her, their face's stretching into smiles "Private!"

"Kowalski! Rico!" Private shouted, almost crying from relief.

"You still have the keys?" Karen asked Kowalski who nodded in reply, holding out the keys to her. Karen walked up to him and took them, turning back to Private and unlocking his cuffs.

Private rubbed his sore flippers and then ran towards his comrades and threw his flippers around them, pulling them both into a hug. Even Rico was too relieved to see the little penguin to feel sick by the affection.

Karen threw the keys back to Kowalski. "There's a truck parked out the back, you guys need to get into it and get out" She ordered them, turning to leave through the door.

"What about you?" Private asked.

Karen paused in the doorway before looking up at the stairs.

"I have your idiot father to save."


	25. Traitor revealed

**Cheycartoongirl8-** woah, okay I guess that would be a good reason to hate him-  
>Skipper: Well he shouldn't have brainwashed me first! It's his fault!<br>Me: Hey, beat it, you're not allowed to see reviews, only Nico and I can...and Private, but only cause he gives me the puppy dog eyes.  
><strong>madagascarmaster- <strong>Um...you probably don't want to...I blame Skipper!

**SkipperPrivate-** LOL yeah, I'd probably be a mix of both. But it was just an awesome line that popped into my head that I just had to use it! XD

**Shadow Effect Lock- **So in otherwords...happily ever after? Sorry, can't give away any spoilers. But put it this way...it's not EXACTLY Happily ever after.

**sweety kneul- **Haha, thanks. I know, The line just popped into my head and it absolutely screamed 'Karen' So I just had to include it :)

**A Beautiful Beast-** Yeah, life can be pretty dull during the summer. But, here's an update now! Aww! really? (Heart) :D

**Dinosaur-Fun-** You're welcome! And I'm honoured to be the first then :)

**TheSkySpiritsTalentShow-** That, or you're just being Paranoid as usual. Yeah, and I agree with dad and Nico, it's best she doesn't know :) I don't want her to act like Thalia's mum...

**Guest-** lol guess it's a common thing for us on FF then huh? :)

**Anonymoose-** You're right, I got back on the 14th but since there was no internet, I had to start typing this chapter when I got back to my laptop. meaning I lost two weeks of writing time.

**OKAY, now that that's finished. I'M BACK! Also, I'd like to apologise for the 'filler-ness' of the chapter, It's just that I'm hitting a block cause I'm worried that my KS3 results haven't come in yet...**

**But I'm still gonna try and update, so enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Skipper stopped his shouting once Karen and Private had disappeared from his sight, instead he turned to Blowhole. "What do you want with him?"<p>

"Me?" Blowhole asked in mock innocence "I want nothing to do with your pathetic pen-gu-in son, it's Karen who asked 'specifically' to be the one to dispose of him" a knowing smile spread across Blowhole's face before he turned back to the computer monitors.

Skipper fought against the hold the lobster had on the chain of the cuffs, but they wouldn't release him.  
>He glared at the dolphin "We've stopped you before bottle nose, whatever your plan is, it won't stop that fact..." Skipper trailed off in confusion at Blowhole. Was he...laughing?<p>

Blowhole turned back to face Skipper and sure enough, he was laughing as though at some untold joke. "Oh Skipper...what's different this time hm...You don't have Manfredie or Johnson to save you. And we all know why"

Anger spread through Skippers body like a wildfire. He spat the name with hate "Karen killed them!"

"Karen?" Blowhole wasn't smiling or laughing now, instead he looked confused and angry. "Karen didn't have the guts to kill them! It was I who shot your pen-gu-in team mate and it was I who sent the assassin to poison and kill the female"

"w-wha...but-" Skipper froze, the memory coming back to him. He hadn't seen who'd shot Johnson, he assumed it was Karen, but right after he was shot, Blowhole had revealed himself from behind Karen with his own gun...Blowhole killed Johnson...but Manfredie...  
>She had tried to warn him "<em>'She...she wants Private...'<em>" what had that meant if she wasn't talking about Karen?  
>"poison?" Skipper managed to push out through the confusion of the many thoughts running through his normally cool and collected mind.<p>

"Yes, a poison of my own design. Driving the victim to the edge of their sanity before slowly killing them from the inside…an ingenious little idea, isn't it" Blowhole smirked at the captured penguin.

Skipper shook his head. This didn't add up, Manfredie died from blood loss due to her stomach wound, that much, Skipper was positive of. But then, what if she really had lost her mind when she warned him…no, Manfredie was calm, she knew where Johnson was when Skipper asked…she wasn't insane. It must have been Karen. Blowhole's story just didn't add up… He may have killed Johnson…but Manfredie and their chick…

"Now, I shall enjoy seeing the last member of your team perish!" Blowhole laughed, turning back to the computer screen on the wall and pressing a button on his segway panel. The screen blinked to life, showing the view of the dungeons from two different sides. One half of the screen was complete static while the other showed the entrance into the celled off area.

"Um boss, I think one of the camera's is broken?" One of the lobsters beside Skipper pointed out.

"I know it's broken you fool, go fix it!" Blowhole commanded, raising his fin to the door.

"Yes boss!" The lobster shouted fearfully before running over to the empty door.

Blowhole shook his head with a frown. "Incompetent fo-"

"_Kowalski and Rico? They're alright?" _A hopeful voice echoed down into the dungeons, being picked up by the camera's mic.

"Private…" Skipper whispered fearfully, then sighing in relief when he realised what his son said. That relief froze when he head Karen's voice.

"_Shh. I told them to stay down here until I gave them the signal to leave…but the plan's changed slightly."_

Plan? What plan?,Skipper thought, ignoring the look of rage and anger on Blowholes face.

"_Plan, you mean…"_

"_Yes, I've been planning on helping you the whole time…ever since Blowhole caught on to your location and that you were our son. There was no way I was gonna let him hurt our baby"_

"'_our baby'…You love Skippah…you still do"_

Skipper froze, straining himself to hear what she said next. There was a sigh before she continued.

"_You're just like him…I can't hide anything from either of you. But…it doesn't matter, once you get out of here, he'll go back to hating me…that's the way it has to be"_

Skipper absently shook his head. True, he'd hated her for years…but he thought that she had tried to kill their son and had killed his teammates…if she didn't, then why did he hate her? He caught back on to their conversation.

"_No it doesn't…you could come back with us?"_ Skipper smiled at his son's naivety.

"_Sorry sweetie…that's not possible…if everything goes to plan, I won't be going anywhere for a while"_

"_What do you mean?" _

"_Never mind"_ Finally the two came into view of the camera, _Karen walked in with Private by her side. He noted the look of annoyance on Karen's face as she groaned._ _"I told you two to stay there for a reason you know, if I was a lobster than he'd have raised the alarm already!"_

Blowhole's brow creased in confusion, unknowingly mimicking Skipper's.

Skipper almost laughed in relief when two familiar voices shouted _"Private!" _and the weapons expert and lieutenant came into view of the camera. He instantly checked the two other, noting that they seemed unharmed. Their feathers a little ruffled and dusty, but nothing major.

"_Kowalski! Rico!" Private shouted. The relief in his voice clearly noticeable._

"_You still have the keys?" Karen asked Kowalski who nodded in reply, holding out the keys to her. Karen walked up to him and took them, turning back to Private and unlocking his cuffs._

_Private rubbed his sore flippers and then ran towards his comrades and threw his flippers around them, pulling them both into a hug._

Blowhole sneered when Karen threw the keys back to Kowalski. _"There's a truck parked out the back, you guys need to get into it and get out" She ordered them, turning to leave through the door._

"_What about you?" Private asked._

_Karen paused in the doorway before looking up at the stairs. _

"_I have your idiot father to save."_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Review please!<em>**

**_~Donakiko_**


	26. ancient history

*Bows head in shame* Yes, yes I'm horrible. I'm SOOO sorry, I started up too many stories at once and now I'm trying to manage them all at once, then we had a family crisis and my brother's friend is in the hospital so it's literally been Tartarus here. But on the bright side, I want this story to be finished as soon as possible so that I can work on my other stories before I start on this sequal.

And now, to the reviews!

**SkipperPrivate-**I hope so too-Wait...what am I saying? I'm the author, I need to make them kick his tail! XD P.S. I know, Naughty Blowhole, no eavesdropping!

**Newstime-** Really?! First SweetyKneul threatens to throw a cookie at me and now you with a plastic bottle! What is it with people throwing things at me?!  
>Skipper: *Hits me with fish* It's fun, that's why!<br>Me: *Rubs head and glares at him* Oh, and welcome to the LFLS family!

**Galaxina-the-Seedrian-** Yep X) And if you think that's confusing, beware this chapter!

**gamer girl247-** Wait no longer! for here it is! :D

**sweety kneul-** Haha, me too XD P.S. I think to have competition with 'Newstime' for throwing things at me to make me update faster X-)

**hipturtle15-** GAH! too much suspence! heehee, hope you like this one! it's fine, FF has been bugging out lately

**Lietaunt-Ghost69-Bronie-** Sorry I didn't get to PM, it's been a bit hectic. And I'm glad you like it :) oohhh, your profile pic! Do I sense a fellow TiPo fan :S

**TheSkySpiritsTalentShow-** Maybe, but cut the paranoia or it'll get you killed!...by me! Yeah, she thinks it's a camp for my 'special mental needs' *Cue eye roll* heehee, sorry about the same cliffhanger, I had writers block so that one was a filler. But the filler's are over!

**123lionclan-** Love?! REALLY?! *Squees* Thank you! and welcome to LFLS new reviewer!

**madagascarmaster-** XD YAY!

**star7k-** Dunno, when Skipper, Karen, Private, Kowalski and Rico defeat Blowhole I guess. *Shrugs* I'm just going with the muse, though she's annoying at times, she's the only one who knows where this story is going.

**A Beautiful Beast-** Well, I wasn't aiming for you not to hate her, I just love plot twists XD But still, I'm happy that I succesfully twisted it! And don't worry, I rant and babble about a bunch of stuff too, like in school when my friend asked me how my FF life was going I told her ALL about it, Told her about all the reviews this story had, bout my FF family, how I was concerned I was becoming obbsessed, how I was making original quotes...I'm babbling now aren't I?

**MadagascarGirl-** I'm glad :) Enjoy!

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><p>Skipper smirked when Blowhole shouted in rage and slammed his fin onto the segway pad.<p>

"Looks like you were wrong bottlenose" Skipper couldn't help but point out. "My team is alive, you let a spy get all of your secrets and you've once again, lost"

A deep rumble came from Blowhole, causing Skipper to narrow his eyes at him in confusion. It took a moment before Skipper realised that Blowhole was laughing.

"That's where you're wrong Pen-gu-in…I haven't trusted Karen since we found out you were still alive…" A crazed smile appeared on Blowhole's face "Which is exactly why I had a little 'surprise' made just to keep her in line should she ever double-cross me"

"Surpr-"

"BOSS!" A lobster hobbled in, one of his legs bents in half and a claw trailing limp behind him on the floor.

Blowhole rolled his eyes and turned to the lobster "What is it now?!"

"Th-The penguin lady, she-" The lobster face screwed up in pain before he was knocked forward by an explosion coming from the doorway, collapsing in a heap at the foot of Blowhole's segway.

"Oops" a voice said.

All eyes in the room turned to the female penguin standing in the doorway, rocket launcher resting on her shoulder and a relaxed expression on her face.

"Did I do that?" Karen shrugged "Oh well" She lifted the rocket launcher and pointed it at the group of lobsters surrounding Skipper "Now move it or you'll all be the main dish at a human restaurant!"

The lobsters let out a shriek of fear before scurrying back away from her as she walked towards them, Skipper staring at her in confusion.

"Karen?"

Karen kept her eyes on Blowhole as she pulled off a key from the trigger guard and pulling Skipper's flipper toward her, pushing the key into the lock on his cuffs and unlocking them. A clang resonated through the cave like lair as the cuffs fell to the metal floor. "What do you think Skip?"

Skipper scowled at her, resisting the urge to rub his flippers where the cuffs rubbed against the skin under his feathers. "Don't call me that"

Karen smirked, pointing the rocket launcher back at Blowhole. "Too bad, I think it suits you"

"Well isn't this just touching" Blowhole commented, his robotic eye glowing dangerously.

"Face it fish breath" Karen told him, her eyes narrowing. "It's over. All I need to do is pull this trigger and it'll all be over. For you"

Blowhole smirked at her, making her confused. "Then do it…nothing's stopping you"

Skipper's gaze shifted between the two, seeing Karen's flipper twitch over the trigger and Blowhole's grin spread across his face.

"That's right" He continued "You don't have the guts. You never had the guts to kill for a cause, You would injure them, disable them, leave them unable to move….but never dead, you never made sure that they wouldn't come back…that's what makes you weak!"

Skipper watched as tears formed in Karen's eyes.

"No" Karen spat out with so much hate it smacked the smile off of Blowhole's face. "It's what keeps me from turning into you. You murder without a second thought as to who you just killed, what memories they had, how their family or friends will be affected….anything…you never cared, as long as it means your version of the world becomes reality. You tried to make me kill my own chick just so you could get some petty revenge on an old spat….that's history blowhole… And fighting over past history only seals our fates for the future…" She finished, lowering the rocket launcher to the floor. "And I won't ruin my family's future"

Skipper blinked a few times, staring at Karen, speechless.

Blowhole's mouth hung open before it morphed into a scowl.

"You say that, yet those Human's drag each other into wars, killing each other for their own cause. Killing children and you're lecturing me! The Hy-u-mans are the reason this planet is poisoned. They deserve to be wiped out, the planet can start anew without them!"

Karen shook her head, holding her gaze to the floor before slowly raising it to meet Blowhole's.

"Then you're fighting with yourself. Blowhole…you're saying all human's murder without cause, yet there are children, elders and adult humans who simply want peace and to go about their lives. You're a dolphin and you have tried to kill me, my home, my family…but I won't take it out on other dolphins…I don't slaughter baby dolphins or blame the entire dolphin race for your own wrongs…so don't blame the humans."

Blowhole sighed, his gaze dropping to the keypad on the segway. "You can say that. You didn't watch your family be murdered by the humans. You knew it was me, you could take your anger out on me…you can blame me. The hyuu-man who killed my family got away, I never saw his face…" Blowhole took a deep breath, staring down at the two penguins with pure rage in his eyes. Rage and pain. "I'll have to destroy all the hyuu-mans to make sure that one who killed my family gets what he deserves"

"Blowhole…" Karen whispered, shaking her head at him. "That's not right, you'll be killing innocent lives. You don't even know if that man is still alive or not."

"I know…That's why I need to make sure that he's dead…and if I need to take you out to do it…then it's two birds with one bullet" Blowhole sneered at them, slamming his clenched flipper down on the controls.

Clicks sounded around the cave, masking the whirl of Blowhole's segway for a moment. Skipper's attention snapped everywhere at once, seeing a yellow shield appear around Blowhole.

"Karen, what's-"

"The holes, between the stalactites…they're guns"

"Farewell….pen-gu-ins"

With that, bullet's rained down on them from all around the cave, leaving no exit, no cover…

And no escape.

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><p>GAH! Stupid cliffhangers!<p>

So...many...feels...*Dies from writing so much feels*

*Revives* Gah...okay, apparently Persephone is threatening to turn me into a dandelion again if I die so...I'm ALIVE! And I added Blowhole's family part in cause...well...I just love showing two sides to all the characters! Like one side of Blowhole is the revenge power driven scientist and the other side is the Dolphin who want's his families sould to rest in peace knowing that their murderer isn't still at large.

Review please! *Does puppy dog eyes* (Yes...I'm on a minor sugar rush right now, *Continues puppy dog eyes*)


	27. Countdown to destruction

**1st anniversary!**

**Hey guys, today is the 29th October, making it my first anniversary of Fanfiction! :D I've officially been a part of Fanfiction for a whole year! I'm updating my most viewed stories to celebrate, so enjoy!**

_**~Donakiko**_

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><p><strong>Bml1997- <strong>lol awesome pun...might need to use that someday! enjoy!

**gamer girl247- **Very sad :( but thankfully I don't have the heart to kill them off...yet

**Galaxina-the-Seedrian-** Oh holy fudge on Ambrosia!

**K TheEpicPenguin-** Duh, they have to live! if they die then there wouldn't be a story anymore?!

**Skilene4ever-** Thankies! Glad you like it!

**Shadow Effect Lock-** thanks! Glad you like it :)

**SkipperPrivate-** Me too! I missed everyone :-) And I'm continuing now!

**Doctor-Hamato-** *Puppy Dog eyes* I can't help it, they're just sooooooo cute! hopefully I'll make your dream a reality, I'll definetly try my best to!

**sweety kneul**- *Ducked behind army defense wall* Okay okay I've updated! Stop throwing things at me *Peeks head up with army hat on and bazooka*

**BlueNinjahCat97**- That's quite a conflicting opinion considering the fact that this story (Which you love) usually ends it's chapter with cliffhangers (Which you hate)

**MadagascarGirl**- Here you go! hope you like it ^_^

**Girl Supersonicboy**- *_* Thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU! That's one of the nicest reviews I've ever read!

**123lionclan**- *Bows* I'm glad to have helped!

**TheSkySpiritsTalentShow**- Skipper...*Slaps his broken flipper* be quiet. Hmm...not sure, I've only got a vague idea as to where the story is going. My Muse isn't telling me anything -_- she's a pain...

**A Beautiful Beast**- ^_^ heehee, love you too. you know...that's actually not a bad idea...might need to use something like that! I've got a bit of an idea, but it's a surprise ^_^

**The Dark Maiden**- haha! I just had this mental image of her walking through the smoke after a rocket launched looking all innocent with a huge rocket launcher and going 'Did I do that?' XD Glad you like her! Now I feel kinda bad for what I'm planning for her... AH! No spoilers!

**Madagascarmaster**- RICO! I thought I told him to hide the dynamite AWAY from MM! -_- Sorry Demios.

**star7k**- Well hopefully you'll stay there, cause this story won't be slowing down for a while yet!

**hipturtle15**- I think everyone's hoping they do! don't worry about it, I'm just happy that you're enjoying it!

**xXCOMMANDERXx**- I'm going I'm going I'm going! :D I'm going as best I can! Awesome Alias by the way!

**TheDarkMaiden 27**- no plz nessecary, I'm updating! And I'll have to check that story out, I haven't had the chance yet, sorry!

**Meota Tsukiko**- 0_0 no, I really don't... Sorry about that ^^' but here's the update now!

Phew that's a lot of replies, and we've almost made it to 200 review! :D That would be the best anniversary gift ever! *Hint, hint*

Enjoy!

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><p>"Duck!" Karen yelled at Skipper, charging forward towards him and knocking him behind the computer monitor as the bullet's pinged off the ground.<p>

"What now?!" Skipper shouted at her over the noise.

"I'm thinking!" Karen shouted back to him, her eyes scanning all directions around the lair "Just give me a minute!"

Skipper ducked his head further behind the desktop as a bullet hit off the corner and was sent flying back up into the air. "Well a minute is all we have!"

Karen smirked over at him "Then it's time enough"

Skipper paled at the slightly crazed look in her eyes. Memories of her previous plans flashing through his mind. "What are you-"

"Just follow my lead, when I give the signal, slide to the door" Karen nodded at him with a determined fire in her eyes, hoisting the rocket launcher back over her shoulder.

"Hey! I'm the leader!"

"Not this time Skip" She smirked, pointing the rocket launcher at the ceiling and launching three rockets in quick succession. "Now!"

Skipper scowled but slid ahead of her, pushing himself to slide as fast as was physically possible for him. Reaching the door in 4 seconds, but what felt like hours to him as he expected the cold steel of a bullet to rip through him at any moment.

He reached the doorway and turned to see Karen sliding behind him on her back, holding the rocket launcher pointed up and firing at the ceiling. Stalactites crumbling to pieces and gravity pulling them to the ground below, several of the bullets halted in their firing. Karen flipper back onto her stomach, the rocket launcher carried on her back as she reached Skipper.

Skipper held out his flippers and caught the rocket launcher she threw towards him before she jumped to her feet, stopping beside him to turn and press her flipper against the scanner.

"Computer! Begin lockdown sequence 74-codeword-Blowhole Sucks" Karen yelled.

The female voice range through the lair, echoing down the corridors. "Lockdown Blowhole Sucks sequence, activated."

Red lights flashed through the lair as a hum sounded, metal walls sliding down over the doors and sealing the doors.

Skipper sighed and pressed his back heavily against the door in relief, glancing over at Karen with wry humour on his face. "Blowhole sucks?"

Karen chuckled and leaned against the metal covered door beside him, wiping her flipper across her forehead. "Old habits die hard Skip, you know that"

Skipper groaned and pushed off the door "Don't call me that"

Karen smirked and chuckled, glancing at the clock on the wall, the smile fell from her face "Oh Fish …"

"What is it?"

"We have six minutes until this place gets blown sky high, that's what"

Skipper's eyes widened at her in shock "How do you-"

"I set an explosive to destroy the building. The plan WAS to get you, your team, Shauna and her mother out of here before the countdown started, but it looks like we don't have that luxury anymore!" Karen almost screamed from stress, forcing herself to pause and take deep breaths before continuing. "I had to make sure Blowhole didn't use this lair again-"

"Why blow it up? He does that all on his own" Skipper pointed out, nervously glancing around at the sealed exits.

Karen gave him an incredulous look "Are you honestly as dumb as you look?"

Skipper narrowed his eyes at her "Is this really the time?"

Karen shook her head and placed a flipper on her forehead "I don't believe- look, Blowhole doesn't blow up his lairs… you think someone who's mastered genetic mutations and DNA sequences would be stupid enough put in a self destruct button on an entire building with him still inside?!"

Skipper opened his beak to retaliate, nothing came out. It suddenly struck him how unlikely it was that a dolphin who could do things that the top human scientists couldn't … would be idiotic enough to blow up his own lair.

"But…We saw him blow up his lab!" Skipper defended.

"No you didn't!" Karen shouted back, scanning around the hallway. "Blowhole builds an outer lair to his labs, like the one in the desert. He blows up the outer layer while leaving the subterranean levels untouched. He only gives the impression that they were destroyed!" Karen slapped her flipper down on his head "Idiot!"

Skipper grimaced and rubbed his head, glaring at her. "Ignoring that, let's just find a way out an-"

"No! We have to get to Shauna and help free her mother!"

"My team needs to know to get to safety!"

"And if we leave now we won't have enough time come back and find her!"

"So we just leave my team, our son, to die!"

"We'll be condemning Shauna and the last of her family to death!"

"Gah!" Skipper groaned and ran his flipper across his face. "This is a pointless argument, neither of us can win this…"

"So there's only one thing to do…"

"Split up" They both agreed, nodding.

"Alright…I know the layout of the lair better. I'll look for Shauna and help her to free her mother" Said Karen.

"And I'll meet up with my team and get them to a safe distance from the explosion" Skipper added.

"Alright, we'll meet up north of the compound" Karen smiled, nodding to him. She took a deep breath and patted him on the back, locking his eyes with hers. "Good luck"

Skipper felt his mouth go dry, only managing to nod. "You too"

Karen smirked. "Oh and do me a favour? Try not to get yourself killed this time. I don't think I could take another one of your faked deaths"

Skipper smiled lightly "Just go get your girls"

"And you go get your boys" Karen smiled, patting his shoulder and sliding down the corridor.

At that moment, a female robotic voice called out through the lair.

"Four minutes to lair destruction"


	28. The third sign

**First and foremost, I wanna apologise for the unannounced Hiatus I've been on. A bunch of Family (My brother's depression and my step-fathers recent hospitalisation) and School drama (Curtosy of a girl I used to call my friend making my life an emotional hell) **

**But I'm back now and I'm not stopping until I've atleast finished this story, which I hate to announce is only two more planned chapters. This update is short because it's to set up for the next two.**

**Once again, I want to deeply apologise to everyone that my Hiatus caused any inconvenience too. But, I got the wake up call that I needed yesterday and realised just how long I've been gone. I understand if I've lost many followers and I won't be upset, it's my own doing.**

**~Donakiko**

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><p><strong>"Three minutes to Lair destruction"<strong>

Shauna sighed in the still air, wiping what remained of the tears she'd shed. She sniffed and glanced around the room. As tall and long as a warehouse with stone walls and floor, several machines and experiments of Blowhole's lined along the sides.

She choked out a laugh, imagining what Chase would say if he were here now…. Probably something along the lines of _'Toldja he was a big baby….look at all his toys'._

The robotic voice had been calling out for a while now…. Shauna just ignored it. She should have known better than to believe Blowhole had kept their mother alive, it seemed at the time she didn't have any choice but to simply believe him. Now…

She gulped down roughly on the air, forcing down what she believed to be her last breaths. An odd feeling of calm washed over her.

This was it. There was no way of stopping it, so why even try?

She squeezed her eyes shut, thinking back to her what Chase had last said to her.

_"We can't l-lead them to b-blowhole Shauna….he'll….he'll k-kill 'em… They're good people…. Forget it…forget the m-mission…help 'em get their friends b-back some other way… Dad wouldn't have w-wanted this…"_

_But he wasn't our dad…._Shauna thought bitterly. _He wasn't a badger… he left us for a stupid army… who cares if he was a penguin general….I don't … neither did mom, she just wanted him home… that lobster….. That lobster killed him for Blowhole…_

Shauna choked down another sob, the sound echoing in the eerie quiet of the room. She turned the army knife over and over in her hands. Her leather gloves stretching against the jagged saw like side of the blade.

_I'm sorry Chase….I'll see you one day…. I'll tell mom and dad you said hi. _

~/\~

**"Two minutes to Lair destruction"**

"Shauna!" Karen screamed through the lair as she slid through the corridors, passing several lobsters who were rushing down the opposite way to the exits. "Where are you?!"

_Come on girl….don't do this now…_ Karen mentally pleaded, turning down another corridor. "Shauna! We need to go!" Karen jumped to her feet as she passed the invention storage room, hearing a faint sob above the blaring alarms.

"Shau-" Karen screamed out when pain suddenly shot down her back, sending her sliding across the corridor. She pushed herself up and glared towards the dolphin riding towards her.

"Did you really think it would be that simple?" Blowhole growled. "No one double crosses me!" He aimed the laser down at her, firing again just as Karen rolled to the side to avoid it.

"And I don't let anyone get away with trying to kill my family!" She shouted back at him. Rage fuelling her as she grabbed the lever from the control panel, ripping it off its hinges and charging.

~/\~

"Skippah!" Private smiled and hugged his father when he entered into the dungeons.

Skipper smiled, hugging his son back before saluting to Kowalski and Rico. "Good to see you two still in one piece"

"Good to still be in one piece sir" Kowalski smiled, saluting back.

Rico nodded before hacking up a set of keys and tossing them to Skipper. "Va va voom!"

Skipper blinked down at the keys and nodded. "Alright men, let's high tail it out of here before this place is blown sky high"

**"One minute to Lair destruction" **


End file.
